Over the next few weeks, we’ll be showcasing a selection of cinematic self-portraits from an eclectic mix of artists and filmmakers. Our series kicks off with a recent autobiographical short from the celebrated experimental filmmaker John Smith and will be followed up with equally humorous and heart-rending works from contemporary artist Jordan Wolfson, subversive auteur Bertrand Bonello, and ultra-candid director Joanna Arnow.

John Smith’s Being John Smith sees the artist wrestle with the burden of having the most generic name in the English language. Showcasing his exceptional wit and wisdom, the 27-minute short sees him recount the origins of his name and how his relationship to it has changed over time.

Assembled from images that Smith has collected over the years, alongside family photographs and internet searches, Being John Smith links personal images with impersonal ones. While the film is autobiographical, Smith makes it clear it is not self-involved. As he discusses his family history, his perennial self-doubt, and his struggle to cope with the atrocities that define the modern world, what emerges is a universal portrait of the preoccupations and problems that plague most common people.

“Although the film is called Being John Smith, it’s not just an autobiography. The film has been quite popular, and I think its popularity comes from the fact that viewers can relate their personal experiences to the things I talk about.” JOHN SMITH

Smith’s droll sense of humor goes a long way in making his film so relatable. Though dealing with his own recent health complications and concerns about the world — primarily the genocide in Gaza — his astute and often self-deprecating observations keep his film from feeling overbearing. As he stated in a Film Comment interview last year, “Humor is a serious thing… One of the most important ways for me to cope with the horrors of the world is to make a joke.”

John Smith was born in London, UK, in 1952. He studied at the North-East London Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. Soon after, he became involved with the London Film-Makers’ Co-op and started making films based on personal experiences that tested the boundaries between documentary and fiction. His films have been the subject of numerous retrospectives around the world and his work is in the collections of Tate Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, Ville de Genève, and numerous other prestigious institutions.

Text written by Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer. Special thanks to Emily Martin and THE John Smith.