Michael V. Smith
Biography
Michael V. Smith is a queer writer, performer and Associate Professor teaching Creative Writing in the interdisciplinary department of Creative Studies at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna, BC. Smith is an MFA grad from UBC’s Creative Writing program (1998).
Known For & Full Filmography6 Titles
Movie - 2007, 2h 15m • as Dancer
Continuing his performance-based documentary work, Michael V. Smith has created a confessional nude dance video. Invitation chronicles the artist’s relationship to his body, welcoming the audience to celebrate and bear witness.
Movie - 2006, 2h 15m • as Self / Miss Cookie LaWhore
Footage of Vancouver punk band SKINJOBS performing live at Ms T's.
Movie - 2004, 2h 15m • as Self
Director Smith examines the reasons why he likes to wear pink.
Movie - 2014, 2h 15m • as (voice)
What exactly is a sissy? Sissy explores masculinity, gender identity, misogyny and self-acceptance. A playful exploration of what it means to be a sissy.
Movie - 2023, 2h 15m • as Self
This intimate documentary unpacks Michael V. Smith's journey as a self-described sissy with a body he found humiliating as he developed his art to become a radical drag performer and genderqueer artist. A unique blend of DIY documentary, road trip, performance art, and videopoem, this amusing self-portrait sources Smith's provocative art practice to examine a lifetime of untrue stories about his body. One featured project includes Smith on a road trip on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, searching for famed Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, while dressed as Peanut the Clown.
Movie - 2018, 2h 15m • as Common Fag
Collaborators Kenney and Smith’s cheeky ‘nature doc’ short outlines the being that is ‘the Common Fag,’ on the banks of Okanagan Lake.