bio

In 2008, Sam was short-listed for the Independent Spirit Award’s Someone to Watch Award. His first feature film, You Belong to Me, which Variety called “A nifty little suspenser bordering on horror … a la Polanski’s ‘The Tenant’ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’” is currently distributed in North America on DVD (Wolfe), Pay Per View (Warner), and Logo. It is also distributed in Australia, France, Germany, and the UK. The film premiered at Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, and screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, San Diego FilmOut (Audience Award, Best First Feature), NewFest (New York, Honorable Mention), and Outfest (LA), as well as numerous international film festivals. The script was a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Richard Vague Award (NYU) and was nominated for Newfest’s Vito Russo Award in 2006.


Sam’s short films have screened at dozens of festivals and won many awards. SuperStore (starring Clea Lewis, Ellen) aired on Reel New York, WNET’s independent film showcase, and is distributed online by Cinequest. Stefan’s Silver Bell, nominated for New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Wasserman Award, aired on Reel New York in 2004. Smear aired on the Independent Film Channel from 2000 to 2003 and can be seen in the shorts collection Boys Briefs (Picture This!). Sam currently teaches screenwriting at the low residency MFA in writing program at Spalding University (www.spalding.edu/mfa) in Louisville, Kentucky. He has also taught writing and directing workshops in New York, online, and at Tec de Monterey in Querétaro, Mexico. He received his BA in studio art from Yale University and his MFA in film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.