James Smith's life journey began in Surrey, England, where he spent his early years before moving to the USA and South Africa with his family. The late 1970s saw them return to Essex, where Smith would later attend comprehensive school.
After completing his education, Smith embarked on a career in the burgeoning computer games industry of the 1980s, co-writing two published works, Freex and Roboto, for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
Smith's academic pursuits took him to Chelmsford and Leicester, where he studied computers more formally. The 1990s saw him employed as a software engineer, traveling extensively throughout the UK and developing skills in photography, watercolour painting, and music in his spare time.
As the digital video revolution took hold, Smith teamed up with screenwriter-producer Caroline Spence to begin self-shooting sports promos and documentary films in 2004. His distinctive style, characterized by hand-held techniques and striking static compositions, was born.
Smith's award-winning documentary Gentlemen of the Night, released in 2006, premiered theatrically and was screened to packed venues on its tenth anniversary. His short film Keep Up If You Can, selected from 3500 entries for Rutger Hauer's "I've Seen Films" International Internet Contest in Milan, showcased his versatility.
The premiere of his début feature, Do Something, Jake, in 2018, was met with rapturous applause at a packed Odeon Cinema in the Midlands, UK, and went on to win Best Feature at the Midlands Movies Awards 2019.
Smith's subsequent films, including the female-led thriller Agent Kelly, the experimental project shot on zero budget, Cyberlante, and the horror-whodunnit Surveilled, defied expectations and continued to garner attention online.
He turned to smartphone technology to shoot cyber-crime thriller Cyberlante and horror-whodunnit Surveilled, both completed under dire circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic.
Smith's latest feature, Casting Kill, a Hitchcockian 'mart horror,' returned to more traditional roots while retaining dynamic shooting techniques. The film premiered in January 2023 and received nominations and wins at various film festivals.
Comedy feature Best Geezer, which premiered in Essex in June 2023, won awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature at the Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Upcoming projects include the mystery-thriller Daggers Inn, suspense-thriller Cult Night, and Spanish-set thriller The Finca.
