Graham Smith

Movies

Elizabeth: Fashioning a Monarch
Director of Photography
In this special tribute Fiona Bruce looks at how, across the decades, The Queen used her wardrobe to fashion a style that came to perfectly reflect her dedication to duty.
Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life in Images
Director of Photography
Sophie Raworth explores the stories behind some of the most famous and era-defining pictures of the Queen, and shows how they chart our changing relationship with the monarchy.
Nothing Like a Dame
Lighting Camera
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Elieen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Nothing Like a Dame
Camera Operator
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Elieen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Joe Orton Laid Bare
Director of Photography
Exploring the wit, work and world of Joe Orton through his own words, and the testimony of those who knew him and worked with him.
Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence
Director of Photography
In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.
The Not Dead
Director of Photography
Interviews with ex-soldiers who have served in recent conflicts, many of them now suffering PTSD. But they survived while their mates were killed. They are The Not Dead. After listening to their experiences and their problems, Simon Armitage writes a poem about their experiences which they then read out on camera.
Death of a President
Director of Photography
A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attempts to answer the question of who committed the murder. Perhaps less morbid and disturbing to watch now than during Bush's presidency, the film doesn't address Bush's policies at all, instead focusing on the way a nation assigns blame in a time of crisis.
Hiroshima
Director of Photography
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.
Dirty War
Director of Photography
After years of meticulous planning, a terrorist operation is reaching its final stages. The authorities have received no intelligence; they are in a race against time but don't yet know it. As the operation unfolds, we see the working lives of men and women directly affected by terrorism. Among them: a firemen worried about the increasingly dangerous conditions he and his men are expected to work under; the head of the anti-terrorist branch whose responsibility it is to protect London and a female Muslim detective brought into Scotland Yard to investigate another suspected terrorist cell. But it is too late to stop the attack.
The Principles of Lust
Director of Photography
Crippled by his writer's block, Paul enters into a new, exciting relationship with risk-taking Billy and super-sexy Juliette. As it becomes increasingly tangled, however, he must choose one of them over the other.
The Death of Klinghoffer
Director of Photography
An adaptation from the controversial John Adams opera about the true life incident that took place in the mid 80s. The liner "Achille Lauro" is on a 12-day cruise in the Mediterranean. While the ship is docked in Alexandria, a maid discovers that four of the passengers are actually members of the Palestine Liberation Organization traveling incognito. Startled by their discovery, the PLO cadre is forced to act. They take the passengers on board hostage and demand the release of 50 Palestinian activists held in Israeli jails. As Egyptian, American, Italian, and Palestinian authorities bicker over the best way to handle the situation (and who would negotiate with the terrorists), the kidnappers find themselves dealing with rebellion among their captives, and an argument between the four PLO members and Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American confined to a wheelchair, eventually escalates into violence.
Signatures of the Soul
Cinematography
Tattooing — "the world's oldest skin game" — is the subject of this iconic documentary. Writer/director Geoff Steven scored a major coup by signing Easy Rider legend Peter Fonda as his presenter. Travelling to Aotearoa, Samoa, Japan and the United States, the doco traces key developments in tattooing, including its importance in the Pacific, prison-inspired styles, and the influence of 1960s counterculture. Legendary tattooists feature (including Americans Ed Hardy and Jack Rudy), while the closing credits parade some eye-opening full body tattoos.