Baker Smith
Given the most mundane of situations, Baker is a director who unfailingly sees the funny side of things. Born in Bloomington, Illinois, it goes without question that his mother’s work as deputy coroner played an important role in shaping Baker’s view of the world. The strange domain of forensics and death was part of the norm, coloring his imagination with hints of the bizarre and giving him a sense that not everything is what it appears to be.
Portraying worlds that are in every sense familiar, he is able to integrate those elements that are just a tad bit off. Whether it’s sex-crazed winemakers, the Women’s US Soccer Team or store mannequins, in Baker’s vision they are given a harmonious place to coexist. It is this reality-based humor, this eye for the absurd, that has become his unique signature.
Baker has won every global coveted award including the Director’s Guild of America award for Best Director, the Grand Prix at Cannes, gold pencils from D&AD and has been inducted into the MOMA/AICP show 18 times.
Baker has worked his way up through the various stages of the commercial world and ultimately partnered with his longtime producer to form harvest films, inc. Having attracted a selection of America’s most talented directors, harvest continues to excel as one the most sought after production companies.
