Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha K Henderson.
Hi Samantha K, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I learned to tell stories at a young age while learning to tell jokes to my dad. I remember my dad telling me that a story has to have a beginning, middle, and an end. I journaled, wrote poetry, wrote songs and was rapping when in high school but I really wanted to write screenplays. It wasn’t until my dad was diagnosed with cancer that I wrote my first script. I then felt like I needed to learn how movies were made to write better scripts. I started working as a location sound recordist and boom operator on independent films. I also DP’d, worked on lighting (a skill I learned from photography work), edited several short films and started producing competition films for myself and learned that I was good at putting people together to complete film projects. I am writing scripts but most of my work in film, tv, and events is as a producer.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The film industry is a hard business to break into, and I face many challenges being independent and unknown. I spend a lot of time networking, listening to people’s ideas, and developing the ones that have potential and then trying to figure out how to finance the production. Each time I work on a project, I want it to be bigger (budget-wise) than the last. I am still trying to produce my first feature film.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a film, TV, and digital content producer and writer/director who loves the art of storytelling in any format. What sets me apart from my peers is that I have an extensive background in banking and finance so I understand the business side of the creative space and can handle budgets, etc. I joke with my friends all the time and tell them that my left and right side of my brain is firing all the time.
The types of stories I tell deal with human existence and mental or emotional challenges we face. It can be in the drama, comedy, or horror genre depending on how I feel, and I always feel like there is comedy in drama and horror.
I have won awards and have been recognized for film projects that I worked on, including a 2019 film that I wrote, directed, and executive produced titled ChefNSacramento and 2021 film titled Smashed that I produced with my friends, Bex Francis, Leah Latham, and Dawn Spinella through Women in Media’s Camaraderie Initiative.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is taking days off school to do creative things at home when I was feeling burned out. My mom would allow my brothers and I those kind of days because she learned that Steven Spielberg’s mom would do that for him. I spent most of that time writing and planning what I wanted my future to look like and if truth be told, I am still writing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.samanthakhenderson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samkendrea
Image Credits
The Headshot or Feature Image should be credited to Ashly Covington.
