Jeremy Thomas, the acclaimed British filmmaker known for pushing the boundaries of independent cinema, has died at his home in Oxfordshire. His career, spanning more than five decades, was marked by bold storytelling and enduring contributions to international film.

Born in London into a family steeped in the film industry, Thomas was the son of director Ralph Thomas and nephew of Gerald Thomas, further embedding him in cinematic tradition from an early age. Raised near prominent studios and in close proximity to film legends such as Katharine Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot, he pursued his passion for cinema from childhood. After attending Millfield boarding school in Somerset, he began his career in film editing, working with notable directors including Ken Loach.

Thomas garnered widespread acclaim for producing Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 film "The Last Emperor," a biographical drama about the final ruler of China’s Qing dynasty. The film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and secured Thomas an Oscar for Best Picture as producer. Reflecting on the win, Thomas described the award as a validation that independent cinema could achieve both epic scale and popular success.

Throughout his career, Thomas was known for taking creative risks. His 1996 film "Crash," an adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s controversial novel about a group of individuals deriving sexual thrills from car crashes, attracted significant attention and provoked debate over its explicit content. Despite mixed critical responses, Thomas’s work consistently challenged conventional cinematic narratives.

Thomas’s contributions to film earned him several prestigious honors, including a BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema and the European Film Academy’s award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema. In 2009, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

His later works continued to premiere at notable festivals, with "Bucking Fastard" showing at the Venice Film Festival and "Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo" debuting recently. Thomas battled cancer in his final years and is survived by his three children: Jessica, from his first marriage to Claudia Frolich, and Jack and Joshua, from his second marriage to Eski, who passed away in 2023.