Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Shafaghi.
Sam, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, I’m originally from Canada. Born in Ottawa, raised in Toronto. My background is Iranian. I’m the first person in my family born in a new country. My parents went through an insanely difficult and improbable journey to leave their home country, in the middle of a war. Not a lot of families made it out at that time, in the late 1980s. Mine did, through some pretty extraordinary circumstances. It’s something my brother and I talk about a lot — how would our lives be different if our mom and dad decided to stay? If they didn’t have the luck that they did?
Of course, there’s a large Iranian population here in Los Angeles, which is comforting for a transplant such as myself. One stereotype about Middle Easterners is that parents force their children into the STEM fields. While this is somewhat true, my parents were far more progressive in this regard. My dad was a huge movie enthusiast, and that’s where I caught my love of film from. I was also lucky as a kid to have a mini TV in my room, which I would sneakily turn on at night to catch various late-night shows. Some kids slept at 8:30 pm. I was in bed by 11:30 pm… to watch David Letterman. I’m telling you — progressive parents.
I was fortunate enough to attend an art high school in Toronto, where my love for performing, comedy, and broadcasting flourished. I was given opportunities to host events around the school, and I even made short films for my media classes with fellow students (which I’m 1000% sure were god awful). Shortly after, I had the idea to do my own variety show, where I could write, direct, edit, and perform my own material. I considered it my own little personal “how-to” workshop.
This little dinky web series eventually caught the attention of George Stroumboulopoulos, who at the time was hosting an awesome, hilarious, and excellent talk show in Canada. He gave me my first job ever, working in television. Watching him, and being a part of his staff every day, was an incredible privilege. From this job, I got many others, and I began bouncing around Canadian television. One of my jobs during this time involved getting signatures from random people who we used as targets on a hidden camera show. As I learned very quickly — sometimes people do not like to be filmed, and they will tell you that with many profanities.
As I kept moving from gig to gig, I felt I wasn’t getting where I wanted. I thought I had more room to grow. So I thought going back to school would let me do that. So I aimed super high and applied to the AFI Conservatory. Lo and behold, I got in — to this day, I’m sure it was a clerical error, but I didn’t want to correct them. For the next two years, I learned the ins and outs of how to build a project from the ground up. The skills I learned were invaluable, and it was exactly what I needed. It was exactly what I was looking for. I made a kick-ass thesis film with some truly talented filmmakers in Los Angeles. I was taught by some of the most incredible figures in the industry.
Since AFI ended, I’ve been able to work for some incredible companies — Preferred Content, Red Hour, Red Wagon, eOne, and now, Esmail Corp. I am so lucky to be able to begin a career in development (getting to work and meet with up-and-coming writers and directors, reading cool scripts) while pursuing my own projects on the side. Some of these projects involve the people and collaborators I worked with at AFI. I’m even turning my parents’ story into a television show! Needless to say, it’s been an incredibly exciting time in my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not a smooth road, by any means.
Obviously, moving to a new city is always challenging. Things are a little easier when you’re surrounded by people who are new themselves – hopefully, you find your community and work your way through it together. AFI was certainly my community.
Finding a job after grad school is the thing that I worried about – heck, my whole class worried about – the most. It’s a tricky thing to navigate a job search with trying to pay the bills. After AFI, for a brief time, I lived with my cousin (rent-free, because she is a saint) while my family paid for most of my expenses. I remember thinking to myself, during that period, just to focus on the job hunt. I tried to rework my brain to not believe that I was a burden on people and that the reason people are helping me is because they believe in me. And thankfully, things did work out.
As a producer, especially on the independent side of things, everything is uncertain. It’s all obstacles and struggles. Someone find the mantra about “nobody knows anything” freeing, and others find it terrifying. Both feelings are valid. There really is nothing like the hustle of an indie producer, especially an unproven one just starting out. So I know, in addition to the millions of the rejections I received from job interviews before the one I have, there will be plenty more awaiting me in the future.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am really looking forward to producing a lot of cool projects next year! This includes music videos, films, and television. Right now my goal is to make — and actually finish — as many projects as possible, while I still have the energy to do it! I’m still an avid performer as well. My goal is to do a ton of stand-up in the next little while.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samshafaghi/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/samshafaghi
Image Credit:
Photography by April Du.
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
