Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Zheng.
Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started as a theater kid and a magic enthusiast when I was very young. I enjoyed performing and creating magical moments on stage, and seeing the audience’s reaction brought me joy. My father had a huge DVD collection of great movies and would watch some with me. I started to watch Hitchcock’s works at the age when others were watching children’s cartoons, and it fundamentally shaped me as an artist without me even realizing it. I have always enjoyed watching movies when I grew up, and I even used it as an opportunity to learn English. However, the thought that I could pursue filmmaking as a career never really crossed my mind until I picked up Film Studies as a minor in college. I had the chance to pick up a Black Magic Ursa and shoot something, and I fell in love with the experience: it all clicked. The process of filmmaking is just like an elaborated magic trick: creating beautiful, fictional routines through storytelling, performance, and carefully crafted moving images to bring joy and entertainment to audiences and myself. Filmmaking made me feel like a child again, so I turned the minor into a second major and never looked back. Now I use my experience in theater to boost my ability to guide my cast, and I keep the joy and wonder I found in magic tricks to push me forward.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was definitely very tough at times. I started to venture the path of filmmaking really late, and I always felt like I was behind everybody else no matter how much extra knowledge I tried to squeeze in myself. For a long time, I also couldn’t find my own voice in the world of cinema, and it seemed like I was never talented to begin with. The lack of experience and my mental health also contributed to my struggles in the worst way possible. Fortunately, I was able to pick myself up and realized that I didn’t need to please anyone else; I am simply happy making these projects, and I can go at my own pace. Without much burden on my shoulders, I was able to find my footing again and settled on the style and genre I would like to work with.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I mainly focus on directing horror films. I grew up with horror, and I have always admired its ability to evoke the most primal emotions within us. From Hitchcock to Cronenberg to Wan and Aster, I was fortunate enough to draw inspiration from these legendary filmmakers. My main goal is to organically combine psychological and body horror to create a mesmerizing medium that can deliver a fantastic story. I believe that the true horror is never the loud sound effect nor the sudden jumpscare; it’s a universal dread that lies deep in the drama about human beings.
Currently, I try my best to tell women’s stories In my film. I’m glad that women are being treated better in today’s society, but I still find misogyny plaguing our world in every corner. There are horror stories happening to women in real life on a daily basis around the world, and I believe that these stories deserve to be told so that I can bring awareness to the fact that the fight for women’s rights is far from over.
When I’m not directing, I like to do production design. Filmmaking is mostly visual storytelling, and production design ensures the authenticity of the story as well as provides the opportunity for the camera to capture a world of make-believe: in short, I believe production design is the central piece of the magic trick, and without it the show can’t go on. I am also learning some makeup skills in the meantime, but that is more of my personal hobby rather than a professional one.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
There are many memories to choose from, as I hold my childhood dearly in my heart. If I have to choose one, it has to be the time I spent rehearsing my first stage play when I was nine. It was a children’s play with a magical castle, a witch, and a fantasy journey. To me, being a part of a greater story made me feel a sense of happiness that I couldn’t find elsewhere, and I was able to fully immerse myself in this whimsical world that took me away from my life while granting me another. It was exhausting, but I can never forget about that entire experience. To me, it was real magic.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orangecat99/
Image Credits
Teddy Jian, Ashwin Mitchell, Mingyang Li, Zhen Cao
