Filmmaking

Need to hire an experienced Director, Producer, Cinematographer, or EP? Want Help with your
edit, budget, or a new proposal?

Speaking

Looking for a filmmaker, journalist, or speaker to inspire and provoke your audience into an engaged conversation or a new way of thinking?

Teaching

Looking for a veteran teacher with a wealth of original lessons and materials to train your team or department in the art of Visual Storytelling?

  • Looking to hire an Executive Producer, Director, Producer, or Cinematographer?

  • Working on a film and need a set of expert eyes on your outline, structure, proposal, or edit?

  • Interested in building your team for your next project?

  • Need help planning a Festival or Distribution & Marketing strategy for your film?

  • Want someone to help you create a plan for financing your project? 

  • Need help writing or tightening up your proposals?

  • Have an idea for a documentary and want someone to talk it through with?

I can help.

With over 20 years working in the Documentary Film World, I’ve worn many, many hats, and been lucky enough to work with hundreds of brilliant creators all across the globe. My deep network of contacts, including scores of former students who I personally trained, in combination with my decades of work experience in all corners of the independent non-fiction / journalism industry, make me uniquely qualified to help you bring that project you’re dreaming about into reality.

If it turns out that I’m too booked to help, don’t fret. I guarantee I know someone who has the skills you need. And if you’re looking for a woman to do the job, you’ve come to the right place! As a founding member of the SF Bay Area Chapter of Film Fatales, and the Collective of Documentary Women Cinematographers, as well as a dozen other professional organizations, I’d be happy to connect you with just the person you are looking for. That’s how our small and tight-knit community works - referrals, networking, and contacts.

Tell me what you want to do - let’s talk!

Schedule a free 15 minute meeting to find out how we might work together.

Looking for a filmmaker, journalist, or speaker to inspire and/or provoke your audience into an engaged conversation or a new way of thinking?

Here are some of the things I love to talk about:

  • Creativity

  • Resilience

  • Storytelling

  • Finding and Honing Your Creative Voice

  • Technology and The Creative Process / Art

  • Women's Leadership

  • Work/Life Balance

  • Community Building

  • Judaism

  • Media Ethics

  • Academic Integrity

  • Creativity and Motherhood

  • Parenting in the Time of Tech

  • The Role of the Journalist And/Or The Role of the Artist

  • Journalism vs. Art in Doc Film

Past Speaking Engagements

2023 – New Parkway Theater, Oakland, CA, Moderator for “Adventures in Peterland”

2019 – Keynote at BBC International Headquarters, London, UK “Who Owns the Truth” 

2018 – Featured Artist at “Face to Face with the Filmmaker” BHOC

2017 – Keynote Speaker, NV Girls Film Fest

2017 – Presentation and Screening, California Film Institute, Environmental Youth Forum

2016 – Keynote Speaker, Texas Tech University Academic Integrity Week

2016 – Panel Moderator, International Production, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

2015 – Guest Lecturer, San Francisco State University

2015 – Guest Lecturer, UC Berkeley Extension

2015 – Keynote Speaker, International Academic Integrity Conference, Vancouver, CA

2014 – Featured Speaker, New Practices in Journalism, Sciences Po University, Paris, France

2014 – Yale University Poynter Fellow / Masters Tea Featured Speaker, Yale University

2014 – Keynote Speaker, Annual Burleigh Lecture, Marquette University

2014 – Screening of AFT at Washington DC Regional Society for Professional Journalists Conference

2014 – Featured Speaker, Newhouse School of Journalism, Syracuse University

2014 – Panelist, Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, Beverly Hills, CA

2014 – Presentation and Screening, George Mason University,

2014 – Keynote Speaker, 6th Annual International Plagiarism Conference, Newcastle, UK

2014 – National Association of Black Journalists Conference, Screening & Presentation of AFT

2014 – National Conference for the Society for Professional Journalists

2014 – Panelist on ‘What is Truth’, University of Montana Journalism School

2014 – Featured Speaker, Central Connecticut State University

2014 – Featured Speaker for January Screening Slot, Hot Docs Screening Series in Toronto

2013 – Moderator, Media Ethics Session, National Online News Association Conference

2011 – Featured Speaker, Society for Professional Journalists, Journalism Innovations III Conference

In my fifteen years of teaching of Visual Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, the top Graduate Level Journalism program in the US, I taught and edited the work of hundreds of novice and experienced filmmakers, helping them develop and hone their individual voices and visions, alongside their production and storytelling skills. Dozens of these students have gone on to become industry leaders, winning every major filmmaking and journalism award there is, while also stepping into mentoring roles for the next generations of upcoming filmmakers.

I loved living and breathing structure, story, and production techniques with these hardworking, creative, and driven storytellers to tell important and entertaining stories that matter. I also enjoyed building an updated curriculum for the first year TV / Documentary program for the school, and helping move the program forward from a legacy broadcast style to a newer, more modern and flexible form. 

Beyond my work at Berkeley, I also had the privilege of creating and teaching a visual journalism course for several years to the esteemed Knight Journalism Fellows at Stanford University. Working with these experts to help bring their storytelling wisdom into the audiovisual realm was rewarding and so much fun.

Here’s what some of my students have to say:

  • "Sam's presentations were clear and filled with examples and practical advice from the field, based on her experience as a practicing video journalist. She was very thoughtful and organized, and flexible in discussing topics we were interested in that weren't necessarily on her syllabus."

  • "I always felt very encouraged by Sam, which helped me feel confident in exploring new territory."

  • "I found Sam's examples about the do's and don't's of shooting video to very helpful. I could see what she was teaching us and feel like I could apply the techniques. And I did."

  • "Sam has a way of distilling the most important information for us to know, and packing it into a relatively short lecture. Also, she has compiled (in an incredibly organized fashion) lots of video clips that illustrate her various points, which really helped the various lessons stick."

In 2022 I decided to step away from my regular teaching work to harness my energy for my own storytelling, journalism, and film/art work. Eventually, I’ll  return to regular teaching, but for now, I’m only available for periodic workshops and classes.

Interested in finding out more?