After earning his MFA in film production from USC, Sam sold his car, packed everything he owned into storage and moved to Afghanistan. He ended up living and working there for five years, producing and directing documentaries for the UN, NGOs, aid organizations, and the media, including HBO, BBC, CNN, Channel 4 News and Al Jazeera. Sam wrote and directed the Academy Award nominated film “Buzkashi Boys,” which was the first narrative film since 2001 to be filmed entirely on location in Afghanistan. 
 
Sam’s documentary With This Breath I Fly, about two heroic Afghan women fighting for their freedom after being imprisoned for moral crimes, is premiering at the Austin Film Festival in October. He has directed episodes of the Emmy-nominated documentary series Religion of Sports, the Emmy-nominated series Why We Fight, and the Red Bull series All In and Life of Kai. He is currently adapting Richard K. Morgan’s epic fantasy series A Land Fit for Heroes for TV.
 
Sam believes in the power of storytelling to connect people across different cultures, and that if we lift up our voices and share our stories we can change the world. He lives in Los Angeles. But that could change at any moment.