Chris Smith (born 1970) is an American filmmaker. He directed American Movie, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
Smith has since directed several high-profile documentary projects for Netflix including the films, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017), Fyre (2019), "Sr." (2022), and Wham! (2023); alongside the mini-series, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019), Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. (2022), Biggest Heist Ever (2024) and Mr. McMahon (2024). Smith was an executive producer on Tiger King which was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in 2020.
Smith's HBO documentary television series, 100 Foot Wave (2021–present), has been nominated for several awards, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program in 2023.
Career Smith completed his first film, American Job, while attending the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee's Graduate Film Program. He was nominated for a "Someone to Watch Award" from the Independent Spirit Awards.12th annual Spirit Awards ceremony - FULL SHOW | 1997 | Film Independent on YouTube Smith met Mark Borchardt, the subject of American Movie, while editing American Job, and began filming a documentary about the making of Borchardt's psychological thriller Coven. Both films played at the Sundance Film Festival,Ebertfest and American Movie was bought by Sony Pictures for $1 million."American Movie"-maker|Salon.com
Later works His resume includes the Emmy-nominated Jim & Andy (2017), about the making of the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.'Jim & Andy': The Thin Line Between An Actor's Method – And Madness : NPR
Smith wrote and directed the documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019), about the Fyre Festival fraud.
He also made a documentary about director Robert Downey Sr., co-directing together with Kevin Ford. The project, simply titled "Sr.",Top Gun: Maverick Named Best Movie of 2022 by National Board of Review - The Hollywood Reporter was produced by Team Downey, Robert Downey Jr.'s production company.
In 2024, Smith also directed a six-part docusereies about the Founder of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Vince McMahon, titled Mr. McMahon.
Filmography YearFilmNotes1996American JobNarrative feature1999American MovieSundance Film Festival winner2001Home MovieHome Movie (2001)|Roger Ebert2003The Yes Men2007The PoolNarrative feature2009Collapse2017Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond Primetime Emmy Award nominationJim & Andy: The Great Beyond|Television Academy2019Fyre Primetime Emmy Award nominationsTelevision Academy2019The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann8-part Netflix docuseries2020Tiger King7-part Netflix docuseries, Executive Producer only2021100 Foot Wave6-part HBO docuseries Winner, 2023 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program Winner, 2025 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series 2021 Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal Documentary feature2022Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.4-part Netflix docuseries2022"Sr."2022Branson4-part HBO Max docuseries2023Wham!2024DEVO2024Hollywood Con Queen3-part Apple TV+ docuseries2024Mr. McMahonsix-part Netflix docuseries2024Biggest Heist EverNetflix documentary 152025Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever Netflix documentary 2026 Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult HBO documentary2026Wilder
References
External links
Libraryfilms.com
Interview with Chris Smith