Mark Anthony

Writer — Producer | UK Independent Film Development

Founder of Nidd Films

Profile

Mark Anthony Smith, writing and producing as Mark Anthony, is a Yorkshire-based writer-producer specialising in UK independent film development, creating historically rooted and regionally distinctive screen projects.

His work blends history, landscape and emotionally driven storytelling, shaped by a background in performance and theatre education — and by an early hybrid practice trained at Dartington, where he explored how live performance and cinematic drama can share narrative space. His practice sits at the intersection of regional storytelling, historical narrative and impact-driven screen work.

He has worked across multiple departments in high-end film and television, gaining practical insight into production processes and on-set collaboration. His screen credits include The Responder, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, Vera, Emmerdale, 28 Years Later, Compulsion, We Are Not Alone, Peck’Eds, Flux Gourmet and A Touch of Frost. This experience informs the grounded, collaborative approach he brings to producing.

Mark is currently completing an MA in Producing for Film & Television at Teesside University, specialising in UK finance structures, recoupment strategy, regional production models and impact-led distribution pathways. He is developing a slate of projects rooted in Yorkshire’s archives, landscapes and overlooked histories, supported by long-standing research interests in technology and storytelling developed through earlier academic work.

Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor is based on the real 1858 murder of his ancestor Mary-Jane Skaife and reflects his commitment to bringing overlooked women’s voices and working-class histories to the screen.

His current slate explores how film and stage can function as narrative and encounter—connecting people, place and audience through immersive, educational and high-social-impact storytelling.

James Atkinson's Letters_edited_edited.jpg

Roots & Storytelling

Mark’s roots span the Yorkshire moors and the Celtic coasts of Ireland and Scotland, shaped by generations who crossed borders carrying stories, songs, and a quiet resilience forged through hardship and hope. This Anglo-Celtic inheritance, interwoven with older European threads, echoes through the landscapes and histories that continue to inspire his films.

But that connection to storytelling was not only inherited through ancestry — it was lived. Mark often traces the beginning of his creative journey back to Escape from the Dark (Walt Disney, 1976), filmed in Ripley and near Brimham Rocks, where he worked as a stand-in for the lead. It remains a powerful memory, not only because of the film itself, but because it tied performance, landscape, and storytelling together in a way that stayed with him.

From there came performing arts training at Harrogate College, where he developed through musicals and darker dramatic work, followed by industry placement experience with ITV Yorkshire on A Touch of Frost. Years of teaching Drama, Theatre, Media, and English deepened his understanding of text, character, performance, and the collaborative process behind storytelling.

These influences converge in his work: places where folklore meets faith, where memory brushes against myth, and where the land itself seems to speak. Through Nidd Films, Mark continues that storytelling inheritance, exploring belonging, identity, and the lasting traces left by those who walked these landscapes before us.

Skills & Focus

Film & TV Producing

Mark delivers projects from initial development through production, post-production and distribution. His producing work covers script development, budgeting, scheduling, locations, casting, funding, partnerships, release planning and audience strategy.

He has a strong understanding of independent film finance, from cost control and funding models to sponsorship, investment readiness and long-term production strategy. He leads collaborative productions focused on regional stories, historical material and independent film practice.

Alongside his current film and stage slate, Mark has written, produced and directed a wide range of educational, community and live performance projects across theatre, music and interdisciplinary practice. The work presented below represents selected professional credits alongside his current development slate.

Producing & Writing

The Valley: A Keeping — Poetic Short Film / Moving-Image Project

Writer / Producer / Director | Nidd Films

A practice-led moving-image and research project exploring landscape, memory, presence, and trace within Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. Developed as part of Nidd Films’ wider exploration of place, folk memory, and regional storytelling.

Dead Funny — Short Film (In Development)

Writer / Producer | Nidd Films

Blending dark comedy, magical realism, grief and hope, Dead Funny explores friendship, memory and the enduring connections that continue to shape our lives.

Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor — Short Film (In Development)

Writer / Producer | Nidd Films

Historical drama inspired by real events in nineteenth-century Yorkshire, exploring memory, justice, and folk remembrance through a landscape-led approach to storytelling.

Child VI: Blood & Water — Feature Film (In Development)

Writer / Producer | Nidd Films

A contemporary mythic drama exploring landscape, memory, identity, and ancestral connection through the story of a young woman drawn toward hidden heritage within the Yorkshire landscape — where memory, land, and forgotten histories begin to awaken around her.

Bog Boys — Original Stage Play (In Development)

Writer and Producer | Nidd Films

A darkly comic original stage play set beneath the streets of Blackpool, where archaeology, folklore and mistaken history collide. Developed for live performance with multimedia elements, it explores how the past can unexpectedly surface beneath our feet.

Mrs MacGregor’s Mince — Short Film

Producer | Screen Yorkshire — Caught Short Programme

Produced through Screen Yorkshire’s regional talent initiative, developing experience in narrative short production and collaborative regional filmmaking.

Positive TV — Unscripted Entertainment Pitch Reel

Writer / Producer | Mummy Earth Productions

Produced a £25K multi-camera studio-format pitch reel for development discussions at BBC Broadcasting House, London.

Jungle Fever: Plan-B — Short Film

Producer / Director | Hi Films

Short-form comedy project exploring performance, collaboration, and emerging creative talent through independent production.

Selected archive and development work is available on request.