LAURA JAI SMITH_Director
Laura is an award-winning film and television director. Her work was described by INDIEWIRE as "an intriguing marriage of the psychological and the visceral".
She is developing feature films as a director and writer/director with the BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE and LUNAR LANDER FILMS among others. Her work has been selected for the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL/ FANTASIA's FRONTIÈRES Programme, THE EUROPEAN GENRE FORUM, LONDON FILM FESTIVAL'S PRODUCTION FINANCE MARKET and CREATIVE EUROPE's PASSION TO MARKET feature development programme. Her first feature script- a psychological thriller set in outback Australia- won the BBC FILMS/ NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL Development Award.
Her award-winning short films were financed by CHANNEL 4, BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE, FILM LONDON and THE ARTS COUNCIL among others. They were filmed on location in the UK, Germany and Australia and have screened worldwide at OSCAR, BAFTA and BIFA qualifying festivals, cinemas and on television, including BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, LOCARNO, HOLLYSHORTS, AESTHETICA, EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, the CURZON and VUE cinema chains and CHANNEL 4 television. They are distributed by the BRITISH COUNCIL and SHORTS INTERNATIONAL.
She has directed over thirty episodes of award-wining television drama commissioned in the UK and sold worldwide, including BBC prime-time hospital drama CASUALTY, BBC/HULU teen-drama THE CUT, BBC sci-fi action adventure series THE SPARTICLE MYSTERY and CHANNEL 4's multi BAFTA winning HOLLYOAKS. She has also directed 2nd Unit including CURFEW (SKY ORIGINALS starring BILLY ZANE and SEAN BEAN) and THE HIPPOPOTAMUS- the feature adaptation of Stephen Fry's novel of the same title starring MATTHEW MODINE and FIONA SHAW.
She is a graduate of the UK's NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL and an alumnus of the prestigious GUIDING LIGHTS mentoring programme where she was mentored by Oliver Parker.
Prior to studying at the NFTS she gained a 1st Class degree in Fine Art, exhibited as an installation artist and photographer in England and Europe and designed back projections for Opera.
