Mr. Smolan is a renowned director whose impressive body of work encompasses a diverse range of projects, including feature films, documentaries, television shows, commercials, and virtual reality films. His critically acclaimed debut feature film, "Rachel River," garnered widespread recognition, earning nominations for the Grand Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival and securing awards for Best Cinematography and a Special Jury Prize for Actress Viveca Lindfors.
Mr. Smolan's virtual reality film, "The Click Effect," made history as the first New York Times Op-Doc Virtual Reality film, produced by Annapurna Pictures. This groundbreaking project earned a nomination for an Emmy, premiered at The Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, and was awarded the Lumiere Award for Best VR Documentary of The Year.
Throughout his career, Mr. Smolan has worked on numerous television projects, including the HBO film "The Last Soldier," the mini-series "Beach Girls" with Rob Lowe and Julia Ormond for Lifetime, "A Place To Be," and "Taking A Stand" (Emmy Award) with Betty Buckley, for which he was also nominated for Best Director. He has also directed pilots for various network series, including "Middle Ages," as well as over 50 network series, such as "Brothers & Sisters," "Ally Mcbeal," "The O.C.," "Dawson's Creek," "LA LAW," and "Northern Exposure."
Mr. Smolan's documentary credits include "The Human Face of Big Data," which won the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography at the Boston International Film Festival, was selected for the US State Department "American Film Showcase," and was broadcast nationally on PBS and streaming on HBO Max. Other notable documentaries include "12 Stones," which won the Jury prize for Best Short Documentary at the Tallahassee and Newport Beach Film Festivals, and "Wall of Fire," which earned a James Beard Award.
As an associate producer, Mr. Smolan worked on two documentaries for CBS: "The Cowboy, The Craftsman and The Ballerina" with Morley Safer and "Juilliard: A Life in Music," narrated by Charles Kuralt, which received a Peabody Award.
Mr. Smolan has been a featured speaker at the EG Conference in Monterey, California, and The INK Conference in association with TED. He has also participated in panels at The Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, Hollywood Digital, and Seattle Film festivals. He is a National Academy of Sciences Science and Entertainment Exchange Fellow and has served as a guest professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
In his personal life, Mr. Smolan is married to the talented actress Pamela Reed.
