James Smith(XLIX)

James Smith was born in Surrey, England and brought up in the USA and South Africa before his family returned to Essex in the late 1970s. After comprehensive school, he embarked on a career in the burgeoning 1980s computer games industry and co-wrote two published works, Freex and Roboto, for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

Following college stints at Chelmsford and Leicester to study computers more formally, Smith was employed in the 1990s as a software engineer, travelling and working extensively through the UK, whilst also developing skills in photography, watercolour painting, and music in his spare time.

Taking advantage of the digital video revolution and teaming up with screenwriter-producer Caroline Spence, Smith began self-shooting sports promos and documentary films in 2004, developing hand-held techniques melded with striking static compositions that hallmark his style today. His award-winning documentary Gentlemen of the Night (2006) was screened theatrically, the latest on its tenth anniversary to packed venues. His short film Keep Up If You Can (2009) was selected from 3500 entries for Rutger Hauer's "I've Seen Films" International Internet Contest in Milan, whilst his début feature Do Something, Jake (2018) was premiered to rapturous applause at a packed Odeon Cinema in the Midlands, UK and won Best Feature at the Midlands Movies Awards 2019.

These films were followed by female-led thriller Agent Kelly (2020), a 'run and gun' experimental project shot on zero budget that defied all expectations, won an award for Best Experiment Film at the Swedish International Film Festival 2022, and continues to be seen by millions of people online today.

He adopted smartphone technology next, shooting cyber-crime thriller Cyberlante (2020) and horror-whodunnit Surveilled (2021), both films turned around in dire circumstances through the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hitchcockian 'smart horror' Casting Kill (2023) returned his filmmaking to more traditional roots, yet retained dynamic shooting techniques to wrap production of the feature in just six days. The film premiered in January 2023, was nominated for Best Independent Film at the National Film Awards (UK) 2023, and went on to receive wins for Best Director and Best Cinematography at Scorpius (Utah) and Love & Hope IFF (Barcelona) respectively in 2023.

Comedy feature Best Geezer (2023) premiered in Essex in June 2023 and went on to win Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature at the Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The mystery-thriller Daggers Inn (2025), suspense-thriller Cult Night, and Spanish-set thriller The Finca are next in line for production.