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Samuel Van GrinsvenScreenwriter | Director

Samuel is a New Zealand born writer and director. His debut feature Sequin In A Blue Room had its world premiere at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. It soon became a festival hit screening globally at Palm Springs, TIFF, BFI Flare and Melbourne International Film Festival. The film was nominated for an Australian Academy Award (AACTA), Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Award and German Independence Award and screened theatrically in Australia, Germany and the UK. In 2020, the film was released as an Amazon Exclusive on Prime Video in Australia followed by streaming releases worldwide.

More recently, Samuel wrapped shooting on his second feature film, Went Up The Hill, which is set to go to the AFM (American Film Market) in April 2024. Went Up The Hill is a co-production with Causeway Films (The Babadook, The Nightingale) and POP films (Savage) starring Vicky Krieps (Corsage, The Three Musketeers) and Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things, Elvis). The film sees Jack travel to New Zealand for the funeral of his birth mother, who abandoned him as a child. There he meets Jill, who he hopes will give him the answers he seeks. But the ghost of his mother appears and inhabits them, putting them both in danger.

Samuel completed a Masters of Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) with a research area focused on the New Queer Cinema movement of the 90s. He was the first Masters student to graduate with a feature, Sequin In A Blue Room. His short films have been selected for both domestic and international film festivals including Cinequest California and Cannes Film Festival des Antipodes.

For a full CV please contact info@rgm.com.au.

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