John N. Smith
Encyclopedia
John N. Smith is a Canadian film director
and screenwriter
. He began his career making documentary
and short films before moving on to feature film
s and then finally working primarily in television. His work has been nominated in the Academy Awards, Genie Award
s, and Gemini Award
s, but has only won the latter. He is best known for the 1995 drama Dangerous Minds
starring Michelle Pfeiffer
and the TV Movie The Boys of St. Vincent
. From 1972, until his completion of The Boys of St. Vincent in 1992, Smith was a staff filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada
. He is married to filmmaker Cynthia Scott
.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He began his career making documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and short films before moving on to feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s and then finally working primarily in television. His work has been nominated in the Academy Awards, Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
s, and Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s, but has only won the latter. He is best known for the 1995 drama Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds is an American drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East...
starring Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
and the TV Movie The Boys of St. Vincent
The Boys of St. Vincent
The Boys of St. Vincent is a 1992 film directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two part docudrama based on real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, one of a number of child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic...
. From 1972, until his completion of The Boys of St. Vincent in 1992, Smith was a staff filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
. He is married to filmmaker Cynthia Scott
Cynthia Scott
Cynthia Scott, RCA, is a film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. She won the 1983 Academy Award for her short documentary Flamenco at 5:15, produced by the National Film Board of Canada....
.
Selected filmography
- The Englishman's BoyThe Englishman's BoyThe Englishman's Boy is a novel by Guy Vanderhaeghe, published in 1996 by McClelland and Stewart. It won the Governor General's Award for English language fiction in 1996, and was a nominee for the Giller Prize...
(TV miniseries, 2008) - Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas StoryPrairie GiantPrairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story is a CBC Television miniseries first aired in two consecutive parts on March 12 and March 13, 2006. It dramatizes and fictionalizes the life and career of Tommy Douglas, the Canadian politician who oversaw the legislation of Canada's first public healthcare...
(TV miniseries, 2006) - Geraldine's FortuneGeraldine's FortuneGeraldine's Fortune is a 2004 Canadian comedy/drama film. It was directed by John N. Smith, written by Tim Burns and based on the play Les Belles-sœurs by Michel Tremblay.- Plot :...
(2004) - Random PassageRandom PassageRandom Passage is a 1992 novel by Newfoundland author Bernice Morgan. It was published by Breakwater Books Ltd. of St. John's, NL. It was followed by a sequel, Waiting for Time....
(TV miniseries, 2002) - A Cool, Dry PlaceA Cool, Dry PlaceA Cool, Dry Place is a 1999 movie adapted by Matthew McDuffie from the novel Dance Real Slow by Michael Grant Jaffe. It was directed by John N. Smith...
(1998) - Dangerous MindsDangerous MindsDangerous Minds is an American drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East...
(1995) - DieppeDieppe (film)Dieppe is a two-part Canadian television mini-series that aired on CBC Television in 1993. It was based on the book Unauthorized Action: Mountbatten and the Dieppe Raid by Brian Loring Villa...
(TV miniseries, 1993) - The Boys of St. VincentThe Boys of St. VincentThe Boys of St. Vincent is a 1992 film directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two part docudrama based on real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, one of a number of child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic...
(TV movie, 1992) - Train of DreamsTrain of DreamsTrain of Dreams is a 1987 Canadian film starring Jason St. Armour, Christopher Neil and Fred Ward as a popular teacher. It was directed by nominee John N...
(1987) - Revolution's OrphansRevolution's OrphansRevolution's Orphans is a 1979 Canadian short film. Directed by John N. Smith, Revolution's Orphans is about a man who flees Hungary, with his daughter Clara, for Canada as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution happens...
(short film, 1979)