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Misha Manson-Smith
Born (1978-01-10) January 10, 1978 (age 46)
NationalityBritish
Years active2004-present
Notable work
  • The Feed
  • Kiss Me First
  • No Offence
  • La La Land

Misha Manson-Smith (born January 10, 1978) is a British director and screenwriter. He is known for directing high-end television dramas including The Feed, Kiss Me First and No Offence and for creating satirical comedy series with Marc Wootton that blur fiction and reality. He has been nominated for three BAFTAs including the Breakthrough Talent Award for Directing.[1]

Career

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2004-2012: Documentary to drama

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Manson-Smith started working professionally as an editor on documentaries for directors such as Greg Barker[2] and James Miller.[3] In 2004, Miller was shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces while filming HBO documentary feature film Death In Gaza. Manson-Smith came on as editor and director to complete it,[4][5][3] interweaving Miller’s own story with those of the children caught in the crossfire.[6] It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival[7] and won many accolades, among them three Emmy Awards, including Exceptional Merit in Non-Fiction Filmmaking.[8] It also won a BAFTA Award[9] and Manson-Smith was nominated for the BAFTA Award for editing.[10]

Manson-Smith also started writing and directing fiction with short Nine and a Half Minutes.[11] Produced by Ollie Madden and starring David Tennant, it premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.[12]

Manson-Smith went on to develop and direct broadcast pilots including BAFTA-nominated[13] Delta Forever (2008)[14] starring Daniel Kaluuya and Ophelia Lovibond, Coming Up: Brussels (2009)[15] starring Peter Capaldi and Stanley Park (2011)[16] starring Holliday Grainger and Sharon Horgan.[17]

In 2011, it was announced that Manson-Smith had been hired to direct the feature film Sex Education.[18]

2012-present: Drama breakthrough

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In 2012, Manson-Smith directed single drama Excluded for BBC Two,[19] starring Craig Parkinson, Monica Dolan and Letitia Wright.[20] Sam Wollaston wrote in the Guardian “It's all brilliant – immediate, tense, funny, sad, touching, relevant.”[21]

In 2014, Manson-Smith created neo-noir action comedy In Deep (2014) with writers Thomas Eccleshare and Tom Joseph for BBC Three.[22][23] Manson-Smith directed the pilot, casting Ashley Walters after Daniel Kaluuya dropped out to take a role in Sicario.[24]

In 2015, Manson-Smith developed Hoff The Record, an improvised comedy about Craig Roberts directing a biopic of David Hasslehoff. Manson-Smith wrote and directed the pilot for BBC Two[25] and wrote on the first season for Dave with Mickey Down and Konrad Kay.[26] It won the International Emmy Award for Comedy Series.[27]

In 2016-2019, Manson-Smith directed episodes of Paul Abbott’s No Offence,[28][29] which was BAFTA nominated for Best Drama Series[30] and won the RTS Award for Best Drama Series.[31] Manson-Smith returned to direct action sequences on the second season and the final episodes of the third season[32]

In 2017, Manson-Smith was lead director on the second season of Danny Brocklehurst’s Ordinary Lies,[33] starring Con O’Neil, Rebekah Staton, Joel Fry and Kimberley Nixon, who won the Best Actress BAFTA Cymru Award.[34]

In 2018, Manson-Smith was the lead director on cyber-thriller Kiss Me First for Netflix and Channel 4.[35] Adapted by Bryan Elsley from Lottie Moggach’s novel, the series combined live action drama with motion capture animation,[36] winning an RTS Award.[37] Among many unusual aspects of the production,[38] Manson-Smith used the actual lenses made for Apocalypse Now.[39]

In 2019, Manson-Smith directed David Thewlis in episodes (and additional action sequences) of sci-fi thriller series The Feed for Amazon Studios.[40] It was selected for the Cannes Series and Tallinn Black Nights Festivals.[41][42] In 2020 it was nominated for Best Drama Series at the National Film Awards.[43]

Collaborators

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Manson-Smith has developed several films with writer George Kay,[44] with short Barbados becoming their first produced work. Starring Michael Sheen and produced by Fred Berger and Funny or Die,[45] it was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival.[46]

Manson-Smith frequently collaborates with actor Marc Wootton.[47] My New Best Friend won the Rose D'Or[48] and a British Comedy Award,[49] with Guardian critic Barbara Ellen writing that it “transcends student TV and becomes a sociological document for the cut-throat nature of our times”.[50] Manson-Smith and Wootton reteamed on controversial BBC psychic satire High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman, earning Manson-Smith a BAFTA nomination.[51]

Manson-Smith and Wootton relocated to Los Angeles to create entertainment industry satire La La Land for Showtime.[52][53][54] Notable for its casting of cult figures[55][56] including Tommy Wiseau and Daryl Hannah,[57] it was nominated for the Rose D’Or and received positive reviews,[58][59] with Heather Havrilesky writing in Salon that La La Land "may be the single funniest thing I've seen on TV in the past year.”[60]

In 2019, it was announced that Manson-Smith and Wootton were to team with Sacha Baron Cohen and his production company Four by Two Films on Gooseberry "an audacious collision of comic thriller and immersive theatre".[61] Manson-Smith shot the pilot with Lionsgate for Comedy Central in Los Angeles in 2020,[62] but the series was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commercials

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Manson-Smith has written and directed numerous commercials[63] described variously as "beautifully observed" "remarkably authentic" and "perfectly deadpan".[64][65] His "brilliantly conceived"[66] campaign for Google starring Nick Mohammed, Olly Alexander and Jessica Barden was selected for the APA’s top 50.[67] In 2023, he directed commercials for Swarovski starring Aimee Lou Wood.[68]

Personal life

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Manson-Smith and his wife Alex Manson-Smith, a writer, live in London Fields with their two sons.[69][70]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Network Director Writer EP Notes
2004 Nine and a Half Minutes BFI Yes Yes No Short film
2004 Death in Gaza HBO Yes No No Feature documentary
2004 My New Best Friend Channel 4 Yes Yes No 6 episodes
2008 Delta Forever BBC Three Yes Yes No Pilot
2008 High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman BBC Three

BBC America

Yes Yes No 8 episodes
2008 Coming Up: Brussels Channel 4 Yes No No Single drama
2010 La La Land Showtime Yes Yes Yes 6 episodes
2011 Stanley Park Lionsgate

BBC Three

Yes No No Pilot
2012 Excluded BBC Two Yes No No Single drama
2013 Dancing on the Edge BBC Two Yes No No Uncredited
2013 Lucky Country BBC Two Yes Yes Yes Pilot
2014 Pramface BBC Three Yes No No 6 episodes
2014 In Deep BBC Three Yes No Yes Pilot, co-creator
2015 Hoff The Record BBC Two

Dave

Yes Yes No Pilot
2016-2019 No Offence Channel 4 Yes No No 4 episodes
2017 Barbados Funny Or Die Yes No No Short film
2017 Ordinary Lies BBC One Yes No No 3 episodes
2018 Kiss Me First Netflix

Channel 4

Yes No No 3 episodes
2019 The Feed Amazon Studios Yes No No 2 episodes
2020 Gooseberry Lionsgate

Comedy Central

Yes Yes Yes Pilot, co-creator

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Work Result
2004 Rose D'Or Comedy My New Best Friend Win
2004 British Comedy Award Best New Comedy My New Best Friend Win
2005 British Academy Television Craft Award Best Editing: Factual Death in Gaza Nomination
2008 British Academy Television Craft Award Breakthrough Talent: Fiction High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman Nomination
2009 British Academy Scotland Award Comedy Delta Forever Nomination
2011 Rose D'Or Comedy La La Land Nomination
2013 Shots Award Branded Commercial Google Analytics in Real Life Win
2013 Cannes Lion Commercial Google Analytics in Real Life Nomination
2013 IVCA Commercial Google Analytics in Real Life Win
2016 New York Festivals Best Performance Clic Sargent: One of the Gang Win
2016 Kinsale Shark Award Editing Clic Sargent: One of the Gang Win
2018 British Arrows Craft Kit Kat: Double Act Win

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2006 Television Craft Breakthrough Talent sponsored by HBO Films | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  2. ^ "Soviet Sports Wars Film Credits". PBS. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  3. ^ a b Edge, Dan (2004-02-12). "A bullet zipped off the porch. When the shooting was over my friend lay dead". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  4. ^ Hunter, Allan (2004-03-24). "Death In Gaza". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  5. ^ "Friend's Gaza death film tribute". 2004-03-25. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  6. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (2004-08-12). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Tale of Children in a War Zone, Cut Short by Its Director's Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  7. ^ "Death in Gaza screened in Berlin". 2004-02-12. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  8. ^ "Death In Gaza". Television Academy. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  9. ^ "2005 Television Current Affairs | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  10. ^ "2005 Television Craft Editing - Factual | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  11. ^ Stables, Kate (2007-02-01). "Cyber cinema: Webby Valentine's Day". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  12. ^ "VIDEO: Watch A David Tennant Romantic Short". 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  13. ^ "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2008". www-staging.bafta.org. 2008-11-09. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  14. ^ McLean, Gareth (2008-05-18). "Watch this". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  15. ^ "Coming Up (TV series)", Wikipedia, 2023-12-31, retrieved 2024-02-03
  16. ^ "BBC Three - Stanley Park". BBC. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  17. ^ "New Drama - Introducing Stanley Park". www.femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  18. ^ Cooper2011-02-02T09:59:00+00:00, Sarah. "Misha Manson-Smith to direct Sex Education". Screen. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "BBC - BBC TV blog: Excluded: How we made the BBC School Season drama". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  20. ^ "BBC Two - Excluded". BBC. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  21. ^ Wollaston, Sam (2010-09-22). "TV review: Excluded and Lost Land of the Tiger". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  22. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
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  24. ^ "BBC Three - Comedy Feeds, Series 3, In Deep, Behind the Scenes of In Deep". BBC. 2014-07-20. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  25. ^ White2014-06-26T07:28:00, Peter. "Dave commissions Curb-esque Hoff The Record". Broadcast. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Hoff the Record, there's a brand new commission for Dave | News | UKTV Corporate Site". corporate.uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  27. ^ "Hasselhoff show wins Best Comedy at International Emmy Awards". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  28. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  29. ^ Wilson2015-05-05T12:21:00, Benji. "No Offence, Channel 4". Broadcast. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  31. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2016". Royal Television Society. 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  32. ^ "Paul Abbott's No Offence returns for Series 3 | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  33. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  34. ^ "2017 Cymru Actress | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  35. ^ televisual.com; Dams, Tim (2018-03-26). "Behind the scenes: C4 and Netflix's Kiss Me First". Televisual. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  36. ^ 2018-03-27T15:20:00+01:00. "Kiss Me First, Channel 4/Netflix". Broadcast. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ "Craft & Design Awards 2018". Royal Television Society. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  38. ^ "Kiss Me First: Interview with Misha Manson-Smith, director | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  39. ^ White, Peter (2018-03-22). "Channel 4 & Netflix Take Inspiration From 'Apocalypse Now' For Teen Drama 'Kiss Me First'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  40. ^ 2019-09-12T16:31:00+01:00. "The Feed, Virgin Media/Amazon". Broadcast. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ Hopewell, John (2019-04-11). "What This Year's Canneseries Says About Current High-End Series". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  42. ^ Grater, Tom (2019-09-26). "HBO's 'Chernobyl' & Amazon's 'The Feed' To Be In Spotlight At Tallinn Black Nights TV Forum". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  43. ^ Team, N. F. A. (2020-01-13). "Renee Zellweger, Ricky Gervais, Dev Patel, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Olivia Coleman are among stars nominated at 2020 National Film Awards UK". National Film Awards. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  44. ^ "TIFF 15 Interview: Four Questions for 'Barbados' Director Misha Manson-Smith - Movie Reviews. TV Coverage. Trailers. Film Festivals". moviemovesme.com. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  45. ^ "Barbados (Starring Michael Sheen, Radha Mitchell, and Ty Simpkins) – Funny Or Die". Funny or die. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  46. ^ "Barbados / TIFF15 / TIFFR". 2015.tiffr.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  47. ^ "BBC - BBC Comedy Blog: How La La Land came to be". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  48. ^ "Rose d'Or", Wikipedia, 2023-12-13, retrieved 2024-02-04
  49. ^ "MTV gets 'Friend'-ly". Variety. 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  50. ^ Ellen, Barbara (2003-08-31). "Friendly fire". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  51. ^ "Bafta Craft Awards: nominations". The Guardian. 2006-04-11. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  52. ^ Adalian, Josef (2008-05-02). "Showtime imports Marc Wootton". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  53. ^ Dee, Johnny (2010-05-08). "How Marc Wootton escaped La La Land without getting killed". the Guardian. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  54. ^ Rochlin, Margy (2010-01-23). "Guerrilla Comic Invades Los Angeles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  55. ^ Hale, Mike (2010-01-24). "Very British, Somewhat Borat and a Lot of Nerve". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  56. ^ "BBC - BBC Comedy Blog: Making La La Land". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  57. ^ "Reality and comedy come together in LA". The West Australian. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  58. ^ Wright, Jonathan; Vine, Richard; Mueller, Andrew; Nicholson, Rebecca; Catterall, Ali; Walker, Previews by Ella (2010-05-04). "Watch this". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  59. ^ Moody, Paul (2010-05-18). "Have you been watching … La La Land?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  60. ^ Havrilesky, Heather (2010-01-24). ""La La Land": Move over, Borat!". Salon. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  61. ^ Bennett, Steve (2019-05-08). "Marc Wootton makes hidden camera show in the US : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  62. ^ Guide, British Comedy (2020-09-09). "Sacha Baron Cohen to return in Borat 2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  63. ^ "Misha Manson-Smith: Cutting to the funny bone". shots. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  64. ^ Stone, Jason (2014-07-17). "Ad break: Ikea, Nike's Derek Jeter tribute, Samsung Galaxy S5". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  65. ^ Stone, Jason (2014-10-02). "Ad break: George Clooney 'wedding' advert, Jeff Goldblum spoofs Liberace". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  66. ^ "Google: Online Checkout". shots. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  67. ^ "One Night At The Museum with APA 2012 | LBBOnline". lbbonline.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  68. ^ "Aimee Lou Wood sparkles for Swarovski". shots. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  69. ^ Carlyle, Rachel (2024-02-03). "The rise of the 'anti yummy mummy'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  70. ^ Woolcock, Jessie Hewitson, Nicola (2024-02-04). "Councils blow £100m in special needs battle". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-02-04.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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