Born in Johannesburg, South Africa,
Tony Dean Smith first fell in love with the camera at age 10, when he realized his love of drawing and storytelling could be twisted and turned into a motion picture sequence. After making numerous shorts and a digital feature during his teen years, Tony enrolled in film school, where he turned heads with his unique visual style - while winning a “most-dedicated student” award upon graduation.
Tony’s passion for story and the moving image then brought him to the attention of the Directors’ Guild of Canada, where he received a “kickstart” grant for what turned into his 35mm short film, “
Reflection.” The sensitive, thought-provoking subject matter, along with the visual style, allowed the film to play in festivals around the world - winning first prize at
Stephen Simon’s “spiritual cinema festival” and earning 5 Leo Award nominations (including best picture, best director, best cinematography and best performances).
Based on Reflection’s heart and style, Tony then worked as a director for hire, co-directing the coming-of-age comedy, “Summerhood,” CTV’s hit comedy series, “Robson Arms (3 episodes)” - and the “Health Nutz” pilot episode (which was picked up for 2 seasons). While doing this, Tony continued to edit feature films, mows and music videos - as a way to keep his storytelling skills sharp.
As a screenwriter, Tony is the recipient of the Super Catalyst Screenwriting Award for “The Sensational,” which he co-wrote with his frequent collaborator and creative partner,
Ryan W. Smith. Tony And Ryan (brothers) have written on projects with
Matt Salsberg,
Sepia Films,
Paperny Films - and have a number of projects in active development.
Recently, Tony’s focus has been on prepping for his feature film directorial debut, which he is creating with his brother, Ryan.
