Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha K. Tan.
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 hate saying no to myself, and I can’t stand thinking about the “what ifs.”
When I got accepted into Temple University as a business major, I secretly switched my major back to film despite my family’s wishes. By the end of my freshman year, I started working on set. I spent every weekend and summers either working for free or for smaller rates just so I could learn something new and be surrounded by other like minded individuals.
After trying out just about every department, I discovered my passion for producing during my sophomore year. I’ve produced multiple documentaries, short films, music videos and web series, including co-creating a dramedy series called “Ambitious,” which was accepted into the 2022 Sundance and The Asian American Foundation Fellowship.
I also took the leap and moved to Los Angeles during COVID-19 pandemic. In Spring 2020, I studied in LA during my last semester through Temple’s LA Study Away program. Even though I was sent home after a couple months due to COVID, I still made sure I could come back. I quickly found an apartment, signed the lease, and moved back to LA at the end of May 2020.
Since then, I’ve PA’d and COVID PA’d on a bunch of commercials, eventually worked as a Line Producer’s Assistant on Max shows, such as The Flight Attendant S2 and Mindy Kaling’s The Sex Lives of College Girls S2, and now I’m working as a Programs Coordinator at Evan Goldberg’s (Superbad, The Boys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem) entertainment nonprofit called Reel Start. Through Reel Start, I co-produced an animated short called Tree’s Blood, starring Ayo Edebiri and Rose Byrne, that partnered with Paramount Nickelodeon Animation and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This short film premiered at the Nickelodeon lot in December 2023. Additionally, I co-produced another Reel Start animated short with Paramount Nickelodeon Animation called Peppermint Spiral, starring Shamon Brown Jr., Brady Noon, Seth Rogen and Romi Dias. This film premiered at TIFF Lightbox in July 2024.
While working on studio shows and studio-sponsored shorts, I still made time to work on other projects. I’ve co-written and produced Megan Lee’s En Pointe which premiered at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival in July 2023 and produced AJ Starzak’s My Monster and I, which won Best Sci-Fi Short at the 2023 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival and at the San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival. In 2024, I produced Hansen Bursic’s documentary called Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania, which screened at the world’s oldest and largest LGBTQ+ film festival, Frameline, and won Best Documentary Short at Reel Q Pgh LGBTQ Film Festival!
In my free time, I also guest speak at Temple University’s Philly main campus and the LA campus, offering their students guidance on how to navigate the film industry as upcoming graduates. It was such an honor to be a 2025 award recipient for Temple University’s 30 under 30 under the Arts and Culture Visionaries category. Lastly, I was invited by InterMyth to speak at my very first panel at WonderCon for the Beginner’s Guide to Content Creation Brand Management.
As an aspiring showrunner, I continue to write drama pilots and am currently developing an anthology series with my writing partner, Hann McEwen. I am also currently exploring action-adventure and comedy.
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?
I graduated at a very interesting time. From moving into a new city during the pandemic to the strikes these past couple years, it felt like it was one thing after another. The post-grad life was already anxiety inducing enough, but Los Angeles has taken a lot of hits the past five years.
Now that the industry is slow and doesn’t seem to be recovering soon, it’s quite heartbreaking to see so many artists lose their momentum, question if they made the right decision, or choose a different career path, especially those who have been in the industry for over thirty years.
What helps me during these trying times is to continue practicing my craft and making art with people who are just as passionate as I am — even if that means after a long work day and spending most of my free time to do so.
Filmmaking is community. Without community, it’s really difficult to push yourself forward.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a writer and producer, I mostly focus on underrepresented stories.
I’ve produced numerous of immigrant, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC narratives. Whether it’s about the justice system, environmental issues, or a coming-of-age story, my job as as a producer is to problem solve and keep people safe, and as a writer and storyteller, I’m here to educate and heal. If that means writing and producing a “taboo” project, then so be it.
As a huge advocate of women and Asian-American stories, I’m making my directorial debut with my short film called F*CK FEELINGS. This short follows a talented Vietnamese painter named Linh who prepares for her huge debut at an art gallery, only to be welcomed by a dark past that she fought hard to forget. As she spirals and reaches her breaking point, she struggles to rely on her best friends and loving boyfriend for support. F*CK FEELINGS paints the importance of consent and that healing is not linear.
Not only was it my first time directing, but I also decided to do a four minute oner that required a stunt, making it a one take wonder. This is how I generally approach any project. Even though trying new things can be scary and nerve-racking, I don’t shy away from it because the end result is always rewarding. And boy, it was. We’re making art after all.
As a Vietnamese-Chinese-American filmmaker, I’m excited to share F*CK FEELINGS at film festivals later this year and to create more stories that accurately portray the world we live in, encourage people to be more open-minded, and remind survivors to be kinder to themselves.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that I continue to learn and grow — not only grow as a creative but also grow with the people I work with. I really believe in building a community and rising together whenever given the opportunity.
As a writer and producer, I also value creating art that challenges people to think and to encourage them to be more open-minded. If I made a film that enlightens people on an important topic, such as consent, human rights, a culture or an underrepresented group, then I’ve done my job as a filmmaker.
What I love about filmmaking is how universal it is. To make someone feel empowered, heartbroken, happy — or just make people laugh — it’s such a powerful thing, and I think there’s beauty in how we can all connect and bond through that.
Plus I love how there’s no right way to do things in film, and I’m always doing or learning something new — even though it can be stressful sometimes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://samanthaktan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaktan/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthaktan/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/fckfeelings.short
Image Credits
F*CK FEELINGS BTS – Andrew C. Phan
SKT Portraits – Ray Raymundo
