Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Why, hello there! My name’s Sam - I’m a BAFTA and WGA-nominated scriptwriter & narrative designer who’s worked on more than 20 games, an international award-winning film & television writer / director with a particular love of dialogue and significant experience in the art of visual storytelling, and a gamer who was born holding a SEGA Mastersystem controller which I’m yet to let go of. ...It makes typing this very difficult.
Giving talks and workshops relating to video game writing / narrative design at a variety of events including NZGDC 2016, the Vancouver Film School, Bradley University Illinois, "The Perils of Free Will!" (a game writing primer session organised by the New Zealand Film Commission), and mentoring students across the globe.
*Sold and distributed internationally* -Received $30,000 from the NZ Film Commission -BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM: Oakville Film -BEST SCREENPLAY: Show Me Shorts (Presented by Neil Gaiman) -BEST SCREENPLAY: Norwich Film Fest -BEST SCREENPLAY: Culver City Fest -BEST ANIMATION: Capri Movie -BEST ANIMATION: Valdarno Cinema -BEST ANIMATION: Mediterraneo Festival Corto -BEST ANIMATION: Via Dei Corti -BEST ANIMATION: Silver State -BEST ANIMATION: Milan Gold -BEST ANIMATION: Asti Film -BEST ANIMATION: Knight of the Reel -BEST ANIMATION: Art Blocks -BEST ANIMATION: Golden Nugget -BEST ANIMATION: Athens Int -JUDGES CHOICE: Norwestcon -KIDS' CHOICE: Corti Da Sogni -BEST ANIMATION, BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: Art Film Awards -BEST ANIMATION, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: BIFF -BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM, BEST ANIMATION, BEST CHILDREN'S FILM, BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: GLIFF -BEST ANIMATION, BEST EMERGING FILMMAKER, BEST SCORE, 2nd PLACE SOUND DESIGN, 2nd PLACE SHORT NARRATIVE: GIFA -2nd Place Script: Slamdance -2nd Place Script: LA Indie Film -2nd Place Script: Screencraft -Hon Mention, BEST ANIMATED FILM: Kaiju Film -Hon Mention, BEST SOUND: Hamilton Film -Nom, BEST CHILDREN'S FILM: Uppsala -Nom, Smodcast Film (Selected by Kevin Smith): BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENPLAY, BEST ANIMATION, BEST EDIT -Nom, Leo Awards: BEST ANIMATION DIRECTOR & BEST ANIMATION SCREENPLAY -Nom, Symbiotic Film: BEST ANIMATION -Nom, Montreal Int Animation *OFFICIAL SELECTION* -Annecy -LA Shorts -Austin Shorts -Tirana -St. Louis Int -Animation Dingle -American Documentary & Animation -Chicago Int -Foyle -SPARK Animation -Cleveland Int -Deadcenter -Maui -Doku Children's -Universo Corto -Ariano -Bolton -SLASH -FilmQuest -Morbido -Newport Beach -Hexagon -Bardolino -Matera -KidFilm -Cinestesia Fest -Universo Corto -Visoni Corte -Festival Int del Cinema Povero -Alessandria -Ani Fest -Anatolia Int -Malatesta Short -Terni Film -Fusion Awards -Bali Film -Paradox -Bharat Int -Peabery -Etna Comics -NZ Mental Health Fest -Canal Con
- Winner and recipient of $6,000 from the ScreenCraft Film Fund, 2021 - Winner / Official Selection, Richmond International Film Festival, 2021 - Best Short Film Script, Lift India, 2020 - Honorable Mention, Vancouver Badass Film Fest, 2021 - Finalist, New York International Screenplay Awards, 2021 - Finalist, Florence Film Awards, 2020 - Finalist, Creative World Awards, 2020 - Official Selection, Rome Prisma Film Awards, 2020 - Official Selection, Florence Film Awards, 2020 - Official Selection, India Filmostav, 2020 - Official Selection, Jade Jaguar Fest, 2021 - Second Round Finalist, Austin Film Fest, 2020 - Semi Finalist, PAGE International Awards 2020 - Semi Finalist, London Screenwriting Awards 2020 - Quarter Finalist, Golden Script Comp 2021 - Quarter Finalist, Courier Awards 2020 - Quarter Finalist, Nashville Film Awards, 2021
- Winner / Official Selection, Richmond International Film Festival, 2021 - Winner, Best Short Screenplay, Global Independent Film Awards, 2020 - Winner, Best Short Screenplay Florence Film Awards, 2020 - Best Concept, Queen Palm Film Fest, 2020 - 2nd Place Short Script, Queen Palm Film Fest, 2020 - Official Selection, London Screenwriting Awards, 2020 - Official Selection, India Filmostav, 2020
Creating characters, crafting narrative on seasonal arcs, writing short films and comics, and writing upwards of 12,000 lines of VO for the BAFTA award-winning Apex Legends. Highlights include creating fan favorite character Horizon, fan loathed character Mad Maggie, and legendary LGBTQ+ icon Fuse (named by IGN as one of the greatest queer video game characters of all time - https://www.ign.com/articles/our-favorite-lgbtq-characters-in-video-games )
Assessing the narrative, game design, and sales potential for over one hundred game pitches.