Marcia Smith

Marcia Smith is co-founder and President of Firelight Media, which produces documentary films, provides artistic and financial support to emerging filmmakers of color, and builds impact campaigns to connect documentaries to audiences and social justice advocates. 

Firelight Media’s flagship Documentary Lab program has supported more than 100 emerging filmmakers over the past decade, who have premiered at festivals such as Sundance, and have earned numerous critics, Peabody, and Emmy awards. In 2015, Firelight Media was honored with the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. 

Smith has written several films alongside documentarian Stanley Nelson including: Tell Them We Are Rising; Freedom Riders; Jonestown; and The Murder of Emmett Till. 

Smith is a member of AMPAS, currently sits on the Peabody Board of Directors - East Coast, is a member of the Board for Martha's Vineyard Film Society, and recently joined the Board of Directors for the International Documentary Association (IDA).