NOVAC

Gian Francisco Smith is a New Orleans based, multi-disciplinary artist and community organizer. In Spring 2011 Gian was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition following a successful run of several commercials featuring his original poetry on HBO’s “Treme.” Smith has continued his spoken word through his open mic “Pass It On” going into its 15th year. He has notably worked on several pieces commissioned by the NBA New Orleans Pelicans including his New Orleans Black History poem “For the Culture” and performed voice over work for the New Orleans Saints. Smith’s film franchise “The Adulterer” has screened in almost 20 film festivals around the country winning “Best Narrative Short” at the Festival of Cinema NYC 2018. The Gene Siskel Institute in Chicago, by way of the Black Harvest festival, sponsored Smith’s next work through a generous grant, and ultimately a nomination for the Ellen Sandor award, the festival’s top prize, for his original short “love tap.” Gian’s 2021 film “Tucker’s War” closed out its festival run picking up a third award for best feature winner at the Hip Hop film festival in Harlem. 2021 also saw Smith receive a fellowship with the New Orleans Film Society’s Emerging Voices Program. Currently Smith is serving as festival director for the annual Black Film Festival of New Orleans which he founded in 2018, and as Creative Services coordinator at NOVAC while he works to complete his short-to-feature film “The Capitalist” which has already received the Founder’s Circle Award and a $3,000 grant at LA Film Prize 2023.