DIRECTOR, WRITER, DESIGNER
ABOUT ME
Samantha is a multi-awarded film director, producer, writer, and multidisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, BC. Her filmmaking journey began by studying film and documentary production in Mexico, the UK, Cuba, and Australia. Back then her work focused on children's issues: childhood abuse, sibling relationships, broken families, and the impact of propaganda on children.
Over time, her work gradually shifted to exploring the other end of the age spectrum: the elderly. For almost a decade, she explored isolation, memory loss, and mental distress in older adults, telling stories about grief, loneliness, and the power of memories in defining a person's identity.
Her films have been screened at over a hundred international film festivals, including the Cannes Short Film Market, Guadalajara International Film Festival, and Clermont-Ferrand Marché. Her work has been nominated two times for the ARIEL, the Mexican equivalent of the American Oscars. One of these films, El Pescador, became an iconic film for the “Day of the Dead”, broadcast every year on national TV, and in the Mexican embassies around the world. She has been part of the Berlinale Talents FICG, TIFF Filmmakers Lab, and the Oaxaca Film Lab in collaboration with the Sundance Film Institute, among others. Her work with elders has extended beyond the big screen into art exhibitions, awareness campaigns, and toolkits to address stigma and discrimination, earning recognition from the World Health Organization and the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.
She has worked with different arts and cultural organizations in Mexico and Canada, developing stories, promoting visual literacy, gender representation, and diversity in Media. She's also been a film instructor, a consultant in accelerator programs, and a jury member in diverse film festivals. Additionally, she has worked with advertising agencies and international brands directing commercials and campaigns for Mexico and Latin America.
In 2021, she co-founded the multimedia production company, Opia Stories, which focuses on storytelling across different media art forms including film, photography, and digital design. She is also a UBC MFA graduate in Film Production and Creative Writing.