Sarah Adina Smith is an American film writer, director, and editor."Interview: Writer/Director Sarah Adina Smith on BUSTER'S MAL HEART" . Daily Dead, 5/8/2017 | Heather Wixson"WME Signs Director Sarah Adina Smith Ahead Of Toronto Fest" . Deadline Hollywood, Anita Busch, August 10, 2016. Films she has directed include Buster's Mal Heart (2016),"Indie Focus: Seeing with fresh eyes in 'The Lovers,' 'Risk' and 'Buster's Mal Heart'" . Los Angeles Times, By Mark Olsen, May 07, 2017. and The Midnight Swim (2014). She also directed two episodes from the television series Room 104. Her films often center around mysticism, spirituality and psychology, and the surreal."Film Review: 'The Midnight Swim'" . Variety, November 24, 2014. By Geoff Berkshire Smith also directed several acclaimed television pilots, including Hanna, Looking for Alaska, and Lessons in Chemistry. She won the Directors Guild of America award for Movies for Television and Limited Series for her Lessons in Chemistry episode "Her & Him".
Early life and education Smith was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. She graduated from Poudre High School in 2001, and studied philosophy at Columbia University in New York."Poudre High School alumna featured at the Lyric". Rocky Mountain Collegian, by Megan Fischer - July 9, 2015.
Career Smith's first feature as director, The Midnight Swim, was released in 2014. The film was noted for its shifts in visual style,"Eye Piece: How Sarah Adina Smith Shot Three Visual Styles in Midnight Swim" . MovieMaker Magazine, By May Zhang on September 29, 2015. and won six awards on the festival circuit, including the audience award from AFI Fest."Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Adina Smith — "Buster's Mal Heart"" . Women and Hollywood, Laura Berger April 23, 2017.""The Midnight Swim" Takes Home Breakthrough Audience Award at AFI Fest" . Hollywood Times, By Rosemary Vega on November 14, 2014.
Her sophomore feature, Buster's Mal Heart,"Interview: Sarah Adina Smith on Climbing Mountains and Taming the Sea for "Buster's Mal Heart"" . Moveable Fest, May 7, 2017 by Stephen Saito premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, and stars Rami Malek, DJ Qualls, and Kate Lyn Sheil."Offbeat indie 'Buster's Mal Heart' showcases Rami Malek's gifts" . Los Angeles Times, By Robert Abele, May 04, 2017.
Smith co-wrote the screenplay for the film Unlovable, which screened at the SXSW festival in 2018."Film Review: 'Unlovable'" . Variety, March 14, 2018.
In 2018 Smith was chosen to direct the first two episodes of television adaptation of the film Hanna."'The Killing' Duo Mireille Enos & Joel Kinnaman, Esme Creed-Miles To Star In 'Hanna' TV Series Adaptation For Amazon" . Nellie Andreeva • February 8, 2018. In 2019, she directed one episode of the television adaptation of the novel Looking for Alaska.
She wrote and directed the 2021 film Birds of Paradise and the 2022 film The Drop.
In 2023, Smith directed two episodes of Lessons in Chemistry for Apple TV+. In 2024, she won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series for directing "Her and Him" from Lessons in Chemistry. In June 2024, it was announced that Smith would direct three episodes of the Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Smith directed the pilot for the 2026 Netflix series Little House on the Prairie.
Filmography Feature film Year TitleDirectorWriterProducerEditor 2013 Goodbye World 2014 The Midnight Swim 2016 Buster's Mal Heart 2021 Birds of Paradise 2022 The Drop
Short film Year TitleDirectorWriterProducerEditor Notes 2006 Madura 2009 The Sirens One Cup of Coffee 2016 Mother's Day Segment of Holidays
Television Year TitleDirectorExecutiveproducer Notes2017 Wrecked 2 episodes Room 104 2 episodes 2018 Legion Episode "Chapter 11"2019 Hanna 2 episodes Looking for Alaska Episode "Famous Last Words" 2023 Lessons in Chemistry 2 episodes 2026 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 3 episodes Little House on the Prairie Pilot Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story 2 episodes
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