misha manson smith

Misha trained as an editor, cutting several acclaimed documentaries. During this time he also produced and directed a number of well-received documentaries and short comedies, including collaborations with Perrier Award winning sketch group The Consultants.

In 2001/ 02 Misha broke through as a director with his work on several Channel 4 productions, including Britain’s Favourite Hoaxer, Lost and the short drama ‘9 1/2 Minutes’, which he co-wrote and directed. Starring David Tennant (the new Dr Who), ‘9 1/2 Minutes’ premiered at Edinburgh, won 2nd prize in the BBC Talent Awards and was released theatrically with ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’.

In 2003 Misha directed the hit Channel 4 comedy series My New Best Friend, starring Marc Wootton. It garnered rave reviews and won many awards, including a British Comedy Award and the Rose D’Or. In 2004 Misha’s collaboration with Marc continued. Working closely together to create strong character based comedy Misha and Marc were soon commissioned to produce the cult comedy series High Spirits With Shirley Ghostman, which Misha directed. It was broadcast on BBC3 in 2005 and recently premiered on BBC America to rave reviews. ‘High Spirits’ and ‘My New Best Friend’ both featured on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Funny Moments.

In 2001 Misha’s close friend and collaborator James Miller was killed in Gaza while making a feature documentary for HBO. The producers asked Misha to take over as director and to edit the film. He combined James’s rushes with the story of Miller’s tragic journey to create Death in Gaza. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and went on to collect numerous nominations and awards, including the Audience Award at Toronto, a BAFTA for Best Current Affairs film, a BAFTA nomination for editing and out of four Emmy nominations, it won three, including the Special Award for Exceptional Merit in Non-Fiction Filmmaking.