John Smithson

John Smithson

Profile

John Smithson

Movies

River
Producer
A cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers. Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our journeys; flowed through our cultures and dreams. RIVER takes its audience on a journey through space and time; spanning six continents, and drawing on extraordinary contemporary cinematography, including satellite filming, the film shows rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before. Its union of image, music and sparse, the poetic script will create a film that is both dream-like and powerful, honouring the wildness of rivers but also recognizes their vulnerability.
A Year Of British Murder
Executive Producer
Between January 1st and 31 December 2017, 768 people died as a result of murder or manslaughter in Britain - approximately 14 people a week. This powerful and original film tells the stories of some of those cases, exploring the human cost of murder - the ordinary people whose lives are changed forever and the communities left to wrestle with the consequences. Filmed over 12 months, it follows families and friends from the immediate aftermath of the crime, through the court process, and as they try to rebuild their lives. These stories are shown alongside statistical analysis of homicide figures for Britain since the Millennium, which reveal that so far this century, the pattern of homicides has remained strikingly similar in terms of the profiles of victims and the circumstances of the killing. This urgent, unflinching and intimate film goes beyond individual incidents to ask what the patterns of murder in our time say about the state of Britain.
Man Made Planet: Earth from Space
Creative Director
Using images of Earth taken from space across the last 45 years and stunning time-lapse sequences, astronauts reveal how humanity is transforming the world - for better and worse
Sherpa
Producer
In 2013, the world's media reported on a shocking mountain-high brawl as European climbers fled a mob of angry Sherpas. Director Jennifer Peedom and her team set out to uncover the cause of this altercation, intending to film the 2014 climbing season from the Sherpa's point-of-view. Instead, they captured Everest's greatest tragedy, when a huge block of ice crashed down onto the climbing route...
Bletchley Park: Code-breaking's Forgotten Genius
Director
Gordon Welchman was one of the original elite codebreakers crucial to the allies defeating the Nazis in World War II. He is the forgotten genius of Bletchley Park.
Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a Plane
Executive Producer
Short TV documentary on John Wildey, who had to land a Cessna after his pilot died mid-flight.
127 Hours
Producer
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
The Beckoning Silence
Executive Producer
In The Beckoning Silence, Joe Simpson, whose amazing battle for survival featured in the multi-award winning "Touching the Void", travels to the treacherous North Face of the Eiger to tell the story of one of mountaineering's most epic tragedies. As a child, it was this story and that of one of the climbers in particular, that first captured Simpson's imagination and inspired him to take up mountaineering.
Deep Water
Producer
DEEP WATER is the stunning true story of the fateful voyage of Donald Crowhurst, an amateur yachtsman who enters the most daring nautical challenge ever – the very first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race.
9/11: The Falling Man
Executive Producer
An examination of an image - a falling man from the North Tower, frozen in mid air - circulated by the press immediately after the September 11 attacks, the public's reaction, and why it was later deemed un-newsworthy.
Touching the Void
Producer
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Children of God
Director
A former member examines the lingering effects of being raised in the Family, a cult whose disturbing practices include the sexual abuse of children.
Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster
Producer
The real-life struggle to contain the environmental and financial damage caused to Alaska by the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez is dramatized.
Disaster at Valdez
Producer
This powerful and moving documentary drama, written by Michael Baker, reveals the strange and disturbing events following the grounding of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez off the coast of Alaska, in 1989.