Liz Smith
Human Rights Documentary Filmmaker
Liz is an award-winning British independent investigative filmmaker. Her work explores the forces driving populism and democratic backsliding, and the systems of power that enable them. Her films are shaped by years of research into these issues, but she believes analysis alone is not enough. By spending extended time with communities on the frontline of political and social change, she develops a deeper understanding of the lived realities behind these movements, while also scrutinising the institutions and individuals who shape them. Working within the observational documentary discipline, her films seek to humanise rather than judge, while holding those in power to account.
Documentaries
In Production
2025
The Conspiracists
A road trip across America with a MAGA conspiracy theorist sentenced for her role in the storming of the US Capitol.
→ Official Site2025
The Line We Crossed
A British story of dissent — tracing the quiet unravelling of protest rights through those who stood in defiance.
→ Official Site2021
I Am Gen Z
How the digital revolution is reshaping the minds and mental health of the first fully connected generation.
→ Official SiteUpcoming Screenings & Events
18 Sep 2026
Screening + Q&A
The Conspiracists
Sustainable Hackney, St Paul's Church, West Hackney
→ Book tickets17 Oct 2026
Artist Talk
The Omnicrisis: Power, Truth and Division
Derby Museum & Art Gallery, Derby
→ Book tickets01 Nov 2026
The Legal Case
Holding the Met Police to account
In May 2023 Liz was arrested while filming the arrests of climate protesters at the King’s Coronation. She was handcuffed, held in custody and released without charge. She is now bringing a claim against the Metropolitan Police.
Three years on, the Met Police have still not agreed to settle, and the claim has now been lodged with the courts. It may go all the way to trial, before a jury, in March or April 2027. If Liz loses, she would have to pay the Met’s legal costs — a risk that is prohibitive for an individual wishing to take on the police and hold power to account.
Alan Carter has independently set up a pledge fund on her behalf. No money is taken up front: pledges are promises, called on only if the case is lost.
“We are seeking pledges to protect a journalist from the prohibitive costs of suing the police for unlawful arrest.”
pax-mundi.org, the pledge fund set up by Alan Carter
→ Read more and pledge at pax-mundi.orgRecent Articles, Essays & Press
16 Sep 2026
Essay
Living in a parallel universe
My day at the beach in Boulogne was no picnic
→ Read on Substack03 Aug 2026
25 May 2026
15 May 2026
21 Apr 2026
21 Apr 2026
19 Apr 2026
02 Apr 2026
16 Mar 2026
Essay
Filming History in Real Time
How the meaning of "The Line We Crossed" has evolved over 70 screenings
→ Read on Substack06 Mar 2026
Essay
Is anticipatory repression the UK's new normal?
Conspiracy to come up with a reason to arrest anyone they want
→ Read on Substack