Jen Stafford’s story of childhood innocence

Produced through Triglass Productions, this gorgeously-shot film, titled SAM, marks the first directing collaboration between director and screenwriter Jennifer Stafford and creative director Ryan Thielen. 

With beautiful and nostalgic cinematography, the semi-autobiographical short follows the summer of 1994 in the footsteps of titular free-spirited character, Sam, as she navigates the societal limitations reserved for adolescent girls. 

Stafford and Thielen say, “When creating SAM, our objective was telling a story simultaneously simple and complex about the waning freedoms of childhood and its innocence. As our protagonist's worldview widens, she is confronted with how narrow societal norms become for young women. We wanted to revisit the untainted spirit of adolescence with raw honesty and emotional intelligence, distilled through a child's perspective in order to reflect the viewer's own experience back to themselves.”