Paisley Smith (she/they) is a queer, feminist director, writer, and worldbuilder working at the intersection of imagination, innovation, and impact.
Paisley’s award-winning films span narrative cinema, documentary, and room-scale virtual reality. Her films balance hard-hitting emotion with irreverence and play.
Homestay (IDFA DocLab, 2017) co-created with the NFB Digital Studio, mixes interactive touch, papercraft, and virtual reality to explore a personal story of grief and loss. Homestay won Best XR for Change at the Games for Change Awards 2019.
Unceded Territories (Tribeca Immersive 2019), co-created with artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, delights audiences in a colourful world made of Yuxweluptun's art while confronting audiences with realities of colonization and climate change. Unceded Territories received support from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Sundance Institute, and Creative BC’s Interactive Fund.
Paisley is a producer on Ang Merkado, a claymation film by NOFAC3, written by Nikki Celis, about family expectations and betrayal set in a bustling Filipino market
Paisley is a leader in the immersive storytelling and worldbuilding space, and has worked with industry pioneers including Nonny de la Peña, Alex McDowell, Tender Claws, Embodied Labs, the National Film Board of Canada Digital Studio, Sundance New Frontier, and more. She has spent over a decade supporting impact-driven immersive creators at institutions including the Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Story Lab and Unity Technologies, where she led the global Unity for Humanity grant program and community.
Paisley is passionate about children's rights and creating thoughtful media for kids. Her work in this space has been recognized by the Fred Rogers Institute, and the Television Academy Foundation.
Paisley received an MFA in Film and Television Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar.
Paisley is a Senior Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab. She supports Vancouver’s independent film community through her work with Filmable.
Paisley lives and works in 'Vancouver' on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Nations.
Work with Paisley
Alongside cinematic collaborations, Paisley is available for public speaking engagements, facilitating workshops, and consulting on film and immersive projects.
For inquiries: hello@paisleysmith.com