John Smith

John Smith is a British filmmaker living and working in London, where he also teaches part-time as Professor of Fine Art at the University of London. Smith has received notoriety and praise for films that are strongly influenced by the Structural Materialist ideas that dominated British filmmaking during his formative years. Also fascinated by the immersive power of narrative and the spoken word, Smith has developed a body of work that deftly subverts the boundaries between documentary and fiction, representation and abstraction. Drawing on the raw material of everyday life, these meticulously crafted films rework and transform reality, playfully exploring and exposing the language of cinema. Described by Mark O’Pray of Art Monthly as, “One of the most talented filmmakers of the postwar generation,” Smith presents Real Fiction, a selection of his short films and presentation on the ideas that have shaped his art over the past four decades.

Tuesday Evenings