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Shaun Robert Smith originally trained as a prosthetics make-up artist before turning to
Writing and Directing. He has been involved in many independent productions including
This Is England (2006), The Devil's Dosh (2011) and The Hooligan Factory (2014).
In 2003 Shaun wrote & directed This Place (2003) a psychological thriller starring
Clayton Fussell. The film won 'Best Film' at the Leeds International Film Festival.
In 2007 Shaun wrote & directed The Soldier (2007) a story of Nazi test experimentation
during WW2. The original idea for the award winning short film was written back in 1998
as a student film titled AWOL to Horror (1998) a short wartime horror film set during the
Vietnam conflict about the effects of chemical warfare. He later penned the sequel,
The Twitching Dead (2000) - a post apocalyptic sequel.
The Soldier (2007) starring Clayton Fussell was produced as part of the 48 hour film
challenge. The film went on to win 'Best Film', 'Best Cinematography', 'Best Visual
Effects', 'Best Editing' and a nomination for 'Best Sound'. The film was selected for
the London Short Film Festival and nominated for the 'Dead by Dawn' award.
In October 2008, The Soldier (2007) was granted a theatrical release by Showcase
Cinemas (National Amusements) to appear as part of the '7 Nights of Fright'
Halloween season. The short was screened before [Rec] (2007), Saw IV (2007),
The Orphanage (2007), One Missed Call (2008), Prom Night (2008),
30 Days of Night (2007) and The Eye (2008).
The success of The Soldier (2007) led to the development of a feature version, The 4th Reich. Despite many years of development hell
the film will begin production sometime in 2018. In a recent interview with Nicholas Vince, both Shaun and Craig Conway stated that
The 4th Reich is planned as one of their next projects.
In summer 2015, Shaun wrapped on Broken (2016), a psychological drama/thriller starring Morjana Alaoui & Mel Raido, this was the first
collaboration with producer/actor Craig Conway. Broken (2016) premiered at Frightfest 2016 and was very well received. Co-director of
Frightfest Alan Jones called the film "One of the most powerful British debuts ever". Other reviews compare the film to Taxi Driver (1976)
by Martin Scorsese, Repulsion (1965) by Roman Polanski and The Shining (1980) by Stanley Kubrick.
During Frightfest 2016 Shaun was nominated for the inaugural 'Screen International Rising Star Award' for his feature film
Broken (2016).
In August 2017 Shaun began work on new material for the Smith & Conway slate due for production in 2018.
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