Bio
Sam’s latest short film Clothes & Blow has screened at over 20 festivals (incl. the BAFTA-qualifying Frameline & Iris Prize), won 4 awards and has been released by Peccadillo Pictures as part of their annual collection of short films Boys On Film 21: Beautiful Secret on DVD, BluRay, Amazon Prime and BFI Player.
Sam’s background is in theatre. His play Public Property premiered at Trafalgar Studios and earned him a 2010 WhatsOnStage Award nomination. A successful Berlin production and German tour directed by Michael Bogdanov followed in 2014 and 2018.
In 2010 Sam co-wrote and presented the acclaimed Channel 4 documentary First Cut: The Other Michael Jackson, which started a move towards film.
After a series of short form collaborations, he was selected for Think-Shoot-Distribute, the BFI’s annual development programme for emerging filmmakers at the 2013 London Film Festival. Since then he has written and directed five short films, which have won awards, sold for broadcast, as well as screened at BAFTA, the BFI and festivals worldwide.
In 2018 he worked as a MoCap Performance Director on the VR film Lucid, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
He is currently developing his first feature Acts of Thievery, which was selected by Film London for the PFM Production Finance Market in 2020.
This year Sam is part of BFI Network x BAFTA Crew 2021.
Awards/Nominations:
2020 - Nominee - Best Drama, Amsterdam New Renaissance Film Festival
2019 - Winner - Best Int Short Film, Dublin Int Short Film & Music Festival
2019 - Winner - Best Comedy, Beeston Film Festival
2019 - Winner - Audience Award, Proud! Filmfestival Aarhus
2019 - Winner - Audience Award, Hamburg International Queer Film Festival
2018 - Nominee - Best British Short, Iris Prize
2015 - Winner - Best Comedy, Geek Short Film Fest
2015 - Nominee - Reed Short Film Award
2014 - Nominee - Reed Short Film Award
2012 - Winner - Crystal Palace Film Festival, Best Comedy
2012 - Winner - IVCA Silver Award
2010 - Nominee - WhatsOnStage Award, Best New Comedy
2006 - Nominee - Oscar Wilde Award for Writing
2005 - Recipient - Pleasance Theatre Charlie Hartill Special Reserve,
Training/Development:
Central School of Speech & Drama, BA Acting - 2000-2003
Royal Court Young Writers Programme - 2005
Hampstead Theatre Start Night (showcase ‘Public Property’) - 2006
Factory Theatre Company (member/playwright) - 2006-2009
Old Vic New Voices (workshop & reading ‘Public Property’) - 2008
BFI Think-Shoot-Distribute (BFI London Film Festival) - 2013
LOCO Kickstarters (LOCO Film Festival, BFI) - 2014
Film London, London Calling, longlist & development - 2015
Film London Labs (workshops) - 2018/2019
Lovers Goes Industry (Lovers Film Festival, Turin) - 2019
ScreenCraft screenwriting competition, semifinalist - 2019