Martin Smith
Director / Writer
Film, TV & Theatre
Film, TV & Theatre
Martin is a BAFTA winning filmmaker whose short TRACKS - a naturalistic portrayal of children's cruelty in a powerful, raw and affecting film - won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Short Film.
He was lead director on GRANITE HARBOUR for LA Productions and BBC1, and recently directed GRANTCHESTER for Kudos, Masterpiece PBS and ITV.
Next up he directs SILENT WITNESS for BBC Studios and BBC1.
He directed 2nd unit on Jack Thorne's drama BEST INTERESTS with AC Chapter One and Fifth Season for BBC1. The project stars Sharon Horgan, Michael Sheen, Alison Oliver and Niamh Moriarty. He’s also directed 2nd unit on the upcoming THE BOMBING OF PAN AM 103 with World Productions for the BBC and Netflix, and an UNTITLED JIMMY McGOVERN PROJECT with LA Productions for the BBC.
Prior to this Martin directed HOLBY CITY for BBC1 and BBC Studios. The show was Nominated Best Continuing Drama at the BAFTAs, and Nominated Best Continuing Drama at the Broadcast Awards. ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES, the crime drama hybrid Martin directed for Tiger Aspect and BBC1, won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Entertainment.
Martin was selected for BBC Writersroom Scottish Voices 2022. He is developing feature projects SHOWS with Creative Scotland and DigiCult, and TARANTULA with First Features and 104 Films, plus a number of original drama series.
His short SEAGULLS had its World Premiere in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film. The film has screened at over 50 film festivals to date, picking up Best Short Film wins and nominations in over 20 International Competitions.
His documentary JIMMY, qualified for The Academy Award® Best Short Documentary nomination, was nominated for the BAFTA New Talent Award, and won the Franklyn Marshall Award for Short Film at the CurtDoc International Documentary Festival, Spain.
LIAR was his third commissioned short, made for Collabor8te. The film won the BAFTA New Talent Award for Best Writing.
Martin was selected by the Toronto International Film Festival to participate in their Talent Lab where he was mentored by Danny Boyle and John Collee. 2021 saw Martin selected for the prestigious initiative BBC Elevate.
In Development
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
TARANTULA | Screen Scotland / First Features / 104 Films / BFI Network | Feature in development |
SHOWS | Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland/DigiCult | Feature in development |
NUMBERS | Original Series |
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
SILENT WITNESS 2025 | BBC / BBC Studios | As Director |
UNTITLED JIMMY McGOVERN PROJECT 2025 | BBC / LA Productions | As 2nd Unit Director |
THE BOMBING OF PAN AM 103 2024 | BBC / Netflix / World Productions | As 2nd Unit Director. |
GRANITE HARBOUR 2 2023 | LA Productions / Eccho Rights / BBC Scotland / BBC1 | As Lead Director |
GRANTCHESTER 2022 | Kudos / ITV | As Director |
BEST INTERESTS 2022 | AC Chapter One / Endeavor Content / Fifth Season / BBC1 | As 2nd Unit Director. |
HOLBY CITY 2021 | BBC | As Director |
ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES 2017 | Tiger Aspect/BBC1 | As Director |
Short Films
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NAMES 2019 | Filming Scotland / Independents | As Director |
SEAGULLS 2014 | Creative Scotland/Scottish Shorts/Screen Films | As Writer/Director |
LIAR 2013 | Rankin Film/Collabor8te/Blue Iris Films | As Director |
TRACKS 2006 | Creative Scotland/UK Film Council/DigiCult/La Belle Allee | As Writer/Director |
ACCIDENTS 2006 | Scottish Screen/Sugartree Productions | As Writer/Director |
Documentaries
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
JIMMY 2011 | BBC Scotland/Creative Scotland/Scottish Documentary Institute | As Director/Cinematographer |
MY CITY EDINBURGH 2005 | Channel 4/Sugartree Productions | Director, 4 Episodes. Featuring Shirley Manson, John Bellany & Alex Arthur. |