Orla Smith

Directing

Orla Smith

Orla is a filmmaker based in London who documents her life, using filmmaking as a form of therapy to varying degrees of success. She also produces nonfiction and “live cinema”, and co-founded the documentary festival The Creative Nonfiction Film Weekend (CNFW).

Known For

Plane FilmPlane Film · 2026
Plane Film
2026
MovieDocumentary
In an effort to continue using filmmaking as exposure therapy (after conquering her fear of the Tube in Tube Film), filmmaker Orla Smith tackles an even bigger fear: planes. On a trip to Porto, the camera is wielded as a shield against panic attacks. But this time, things don’t go exactly to plan.
Goodbye, WorldGoodbye, World
Goodbye, World
MovieScience FictionFantasy
Set in a world where human beings are digitally uploading their consciousness, it is GIRL’s turn to make her decision. Will she decide to join her family and leave her physicality behind, as well as the relics of what it once meant to be human?
Edinburgh '25Edinburgh '25 · 2026
Edinburgh '25
2026
MovieDocumentary
I went to Edinburgh last summer and, in retrospect, realised it was the happiest I was all year. So I went back to Edinburgh at New Year's and attempted to reconstruct the experience through film.
PapercutPapercut · 2022
Papercut
2022
MovieDocumentaryDrama
A young woman rediscovers a letter from an old friend, forcing her to reconcile with the past.
Tube FilmTube Film · 2025
Tube Film
2025
MovieDocumentary
Orla goes on the tube.
Checking InChecking In · 2020
Checking In
★ 5.02020
MovieDocumentary
A short film about communication in the time of social isolation.
Burden of Other People's DreamsBurden of Other People's Dreams
Burden of Other People's Dreams
Movie
Burden of Other People’s Dreams is an attempt to cross the experience of reading a book with the experience of watching a film. Created by renowned film editor Joe Bini (Grizzly Man, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, You Were Never Really Here), the piece explores the psychology of anonymity required in being an editor. Combining words and imagery, physical and digital media, it blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction to tell a story about how stories are told.

Filmography

Sort