SAM’S WORLD
by lILY LADY, 2024

Catalog Number: FTF-150
Length: 65 minutes

Sam’s World exists in the highly topical spaces of sex work and unwanted pregnancy; each theme remains mostly subtextual in order to provide nuance and healing around topics that have been poorly portrayed in major film productions thus far. Set in NYC and filmed almost entirely in Brooklyn, Sam's World is hyper local in one sense, but was made with the inclusive intention to be received by viewers in non-urban areas as well. From its inception, Sam’s World was made with a no-permission-asked, punk-rock approach.
 
First-time director Lily Lady wrote the script in spring 2022, shot it over 8 days that summer, and had it edited by the fall. With no film background or related education, Lily assembled a team of actors and non actors to fit each role, and scraped together the production budget through a combination of crowdfunding and support from a non-profit arts organization. Sam’s World seeks to be a living testament to any aspiring filmmakers without prior experience, industry connections or rich parents that it’s possible to shoot a feature in under a year and retain full creative control throughout the project’s lifetime. There’s too much gatekeeping in film! It’s time more movies like Sam’s World have their time in the sun.

Written and Directed by Lily Lady
Produced by Dan Lalor
Cinematography by Matt Harvey
Music by Carlos Dengler (Interpol)
Starring: Lily Lady, Coco Gordon Moore, Annie Conolly, Riley Mac, Ajé Brown, Quinn, Aurora O'Greenfield, Howard F. Seligman, Thomas Mastoras, Ali Tichavsky, Monica Deane, David Lambert, Bowen Goh, Alsatia Ragusa, Maddie Vasquez, Lotus Rogers, Amara Velasquez, Pamela Marin

Festivals: Slamdance, Florida Film Festival, Trans/Lation Film Festival, Tallahassee Film Festival

WATCH THE FILM

October 16th, 2024
Downtown Festival, The Roxy, New York, NY info

PRESS

"Not just a great queer narrative, but a great human story. Reminiscent of the works of Sean Baker.”
-Becca Ortmann, Slug Magazine

"Magnificent de-sensationalization of living in the shadows. A remarkable feature debut.”
-Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat

"Sam’s World’s overall approach to broaching the broader implications of sex work is refreshing in a film environment that readily fetishizes or prods the trade voyeuristically, and from afar.” 
- Conor Truax, In Review Online