There’s content. And then there’s cinema.
Sam Shapson is a writer, director, and producer drawn to dark, elevated genre filmmaking across horror, thriller, and science-fiction. Stories that transform the cerebral into the visceral. Ideas that haunt long after the screen goes dark.
After being accepted to multiple programs across both USC and AFI, he chose USC's Peter Stark Producing Program for its focus on the business of filmmaking at a moment when the industry is reinventing how cinematic stories get made.
His latest short film, THE KING IN YELLOW, a cosmic horror adaptation of the 1895 Robert W. Chambers stories, was nominated for Best Horror Short at FilmQuest and Nightmares Film Festival, and played at Screamfest LA, Grimmfest, Nevermore, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. His upcoming short, NEWCOMER, a Victorian-era seance ghost story shot on period accurate sets built on the USC soundstages, is currently in post-production and set to begin its festival run this fall.
His previous short films, THE TREEHOUSE, REFUGE, and THE OFFER, have gained international recognition including at Austin, Fantasia, and CineQuest, and were featured on Short of the Week, Omeleto, Gizmodo, Indiewire, Vice, and No Film School. He has also directed several music videos for Soraia and Throwlight.
Before turning to writing, directing, and producing full time, Sam spent 14 years as a DGA 1st Assistant Director across 200+ projects for companies including Magnolia Pictures, Google, Disney, and Hulu, with projects premiering at Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he developed an early love for illustration, music, and photography while also feeling drawn towards physics, psychology, and philosophy. Then he discovered film, a medium that bridged the divide between creative and analytical disciplines, earning a BA in Film & Television from Columbia College Chicago in 2011 before establishing himself in LA where he’s now based.
samshapson@gmail.com
