John Smithson

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John Smithson for Arrow Pictures John Smithson.jpg
John Smithson for Arrow Pictures

John Smithson (born in March 1952) is an Oscar Best Picture nominee and BAFTA, Emmy, Peabody, and Grierson award-winning producer and executive in non-scripted film and television based in London, England. [1]

Contents

His most notable works include originating and producing the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated film 127 Hours [2] , the BAFTA-winning landmark documentary Touching the Void, as well as the BAFTA and London Film Festival-winning documentary Sherpa.

Career

Smithson began his career as a reporter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio before joining BBC Radio 4 as a current affairs producer. He then entered the television industry, spending five years as a researcher on Granada’s World in Action, followed by two years producing Rough Justice for BBC TV.

He co-founded Darlow Smithson Productions in 1988 and led its growth into one of the world’s foremost non-fiction producers and a trailblazer for UK expansion into the US factual market, producing over 100 hours of high-quality programmes every year for world-leading broadcasters, including Discovery, C4, BBC, and National Geographic. [3]

Smithson acquired full control of Darlow Smithson Productions in June 2002, buying out co-founder David Darlow’s 50% stake. [4] The company was acquired by sports and media giant IMG in 2006 and later by Endemol in 2009. [5]

In 2011, Smithson co-founded Arrow Media, one of the UK’s fastest-growing production companies, which rapidly became a creative powerhouse delivering more than 100 hours of world-class TV to the UK, US and international markets each year. [6] In 2023, Arrow Media was acquired by French media group Asacha, which has since become part of Fremantle (company). [7]

Since his departure from Arrow Media, Smithson worked independently before founding his own production company, Smithson Media, in 2025 to focus on a slate of ambitious projects, while acting as a key creative and strategic advisor in content creation and management.

Awards & nominations

YearAwardCategoryProductionResult
1999 News & Documentary Emmy Award Analysis of a Single Current StoryDecoding the NazisWon
2004 BAFTA Alexander Korda AwardBest British Film Touching the Void Won
2004 British Independent Film Award Best British Documentary Touching the Void Won
2004 Evening Standard British Film Award Best Film Award Touching the Void Won
2005 Emmy Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More) The Last Dragon Nominated
2005Online Film & Television AssociationBest Documentary Award Touching the Void Nominated
2007 BAFTA Award Flaherty Documentary Award9/11: The Falling ManNominated
2007New York Festival World Gold MedalFeature-Length Documentary9/11: The Falling ManWon
2007 Grierson Awards Best Cinema Documentary Deep Water Won
2007Focal AwardBest Use of Footage in a Feature Length Documentary or Film Deep Water Won
2007 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Documentary Deep Water Won
2007Rome International Film Festival AwardBest Cinema Documentary Deep Water Won
2008 International Emmy Award Best Documentary The Beckoning Silence Won
2009 BAFTA TV Award Best Single Documentary The Beckoning Silence Nominated
2009 BAFTA TV Award Best Single DocumentaryThrilla in ManilaNominated
2009 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury PrizeThrilla in ManilaNominated
2009Banff Television Festival AwardBest Sports DocumentaryThrilla in ManilaWon
2009 Grierson Award Best Historical DocumentaryThrilla in ManilaWon
2010 Peabody Award Thrilla in ManilaWon
2010 News & Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Historical ProgrammingThrilla in ManilaNominated
2010 International Emmy Award Best Documentary9/11: Phone Calls from the TowersNominated
2011 Academy Awards (Oscar)Best Motion Picture of the Year 127 Hours Nominated
2011 BAFTA Alexander Korda AwardBest British Film 127 Hours Nominated
2011 American Film Institute (AFI) AwardsMovie of the Year 127 Hours Won
2011 News & Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Historical Programming Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, episode "Time Travel"Nominated
2012 News & Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form9/11: Heroes of the 88th Floor: People Helping PeopleNominated
2012 Emmy Outstanding Science and Technology Programming Curiosity, episode "Did God Create the Universe"Nominated
2015 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award Best Feature Length Documentary Sherpa Nominated
2015 London Film Festival Grierson AwardBest Documentary Film Sherpa Won
2016Film Critics Australia AwardBest Feature Length Documentary Sherpa Won
2016 BAFTA Film Awards Best Documentary Award Sherpa Nominated
2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Best DocumentaryRiverWon
2022 Grierson Awards Best Science DocumentaryPositiveNominated
2025 Telluride Mountainfilm Festival James Balog Creative Vision AwardCecilWon

Notable Work

Complete Filmography

TitleFormatYear of ReleaseRole
World In Action TV series1981-1985Researcher (multiple episodes)
Rough Justice TV Series1987Producer (3 episodes)
Coded Hostile (aka Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy)TV Movie1989Producer
Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster TV Movie1992Producer
EverymanTV Series1993-1994Producer (3 episodes)
Children of GodTV Movie1994Director | Producer
What Has Become of UsTV Mini Series1994Executive Producer (3 episodes)
WitnessTV Series1994-1997Executive Producer / Producer (4 episodes)
The Affair TV Movie1995Producer
Black BoxTV Series1996-1998Executive Producer (6 episodes)
CrashTV Series1998Executive Producer (3 episodes)
DrivenTV Series1998Executive Producer (30 episodes)
BlazeTV Series1999Executive Producer (3 hours)
BootcampDocumentary1999Executive Producer
MaydayTV Series1999Executive Producer (4 episodes)
Station X TV Mini Series1999Executive Producer (6 episodes)
DerailTV Series2000Executive Producer (3 episodes)
Secret AgentTV Series2000Producer (4 episodes)
Teenage Japanese KillersTV Movie2000Executive Producer
Why Doctors Make MistakesTV Series2000Executive Producer (3 episodes)
Murder in ParadiseTV Series2001Executive Producer (1 episode)
Why Men LeaveDocumentary2001Executive Producer
Lost GirlsTV Series2002Executive Producer (2 episodes)
Lost Worlds TV Series2002Executive Producer (1 episode)
The Hollywood MachineTV Series2002Executive Producer (3 hours)
What Killed the Mega BeastsTV Movie2002Executive Producer
Touching the Void Theatrical Documentary2003Producer
We Built This City: LondonTV Movie2003Executive Producer
We Built This City: New YorkTV Movie2003Executive Producer
The Last Dragon TV Movie2004Executive Producer
E=mc²TV Movie2005Executive Producer
I Shouldn’t Be AliveTV Series2005-2011Executive Producer (30 episodes)
The SommeTV Movie2005Executive Producer
Deep Water Theatrical Documentary2006Producer
The Da Vinci DetectiveTV Movie2006Executive Producer
9/11: The Falling ManFeature Documentary2006Executive Producer
Clapham JunctionTV Movie2007Executive Producer
Impact EarthTV Movie2007Executive Producer
The Beckoning Silence Feature Documentary2007Executive Producer
Thrilla in ManilaFeature Documentary2008Executive Producer
We Built This City: ParisTV Movie2008Executive Producer
The Diary of Anne FrankTV Mini Series2009Executive Producer (5 episodes)
U Be Dead TV Movie2009Executive Producer
9/11: Phone Calls from the TowersTV Movie2009Executive Producer
Stephen Hawking’s UniverseTV Mini Series2010Executive Producer (3 episodes)
Atlas 4DTV Series2010Executive Producer (3 episodes)
127 Hours Feature Film2010Producer
9/11: Heroes of the 88th Floor: People Helping PeopleTV Movie2011Executive Producer
Stephen Hawking’s Grand DesignTV Mini Series2012Executive Producer (3 episodes)
Ultimate Airport Dubai TV Series2013-2015Executive Producer (19 episodes) | Creative Director (30 episodes)
Dogs: Their Secret LivesTV Series2014Executive Producer (4 episodes)
Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a PlaneTV Special2014Executive Producer
Bletchley Park: Code-Breaking's Forgotten GeniusTV Movie2015Creative Director
Sherpa Theatrical Documentary2015Producer
Hitler: The Rise and FallTV Series2016Creative Director (6 episodes)
Taking Flight Britain’s America’s Cup ChallengeTV Series2016Executive Producer
Man Made Planet: Earth from SpaceTV Movie2017Executive Producer
Modern British SlaveryDocumentary2017Creative Director
Nightmare on EverestTV Movie2017Creative Director
A Year of British MurderTV Movie2019Executive Producer
Generation 9/11TV Mini Series2021Creative Director (2 episodes)
RiverFeature Film2021Producer
I SniperTV Mini Series2023Executive Producer (6 hours)
Tsunami: The Wave That Shook the WorldTV Special2024Executive Producer
CecilTheatrical Documentary2025Producer

References

  1. ↑ "JOHN SMITHSON – Sherpa" . Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey. "John Smithson". Screen. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "DSP (Darlow Smithson Productions)". Banijay. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "RDF producer heads to Darlow Smithson". C21media. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Darlow Smithson co-founder quits". Digital Spy. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Arrow Media | Asacha Media Group Acquires Arrow International Media". Arrow Media. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "Asacha buys Arrow Media". The Talent Manager. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
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