Master of Arts: Screen Production - Directing, 2018; Foundation Diploma, 2014
Samuel Van Grinsven is a New Zealand-born writer and director. He completed a Masters of Directing at the school, where his research focused on the New Queer Cinema movement of the 1990s, and his short films have been selected for international film festivals including Cinequest California and Cannes Festival des Antipodes.
Samuel’s debut feature film Sequin in a Blue Room premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2019, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film subsequently screened around the world at festivals such as Palm Springs International Film Festival, TIFF Next Wave, Melbourne International Film Festival and Outfest LA, the world’s largest queer film festival.
The film was also nominated for AACTA and ADG awards and was selected for the Iris Prize in the UK. He is currently in development on his second feature film Went Up the Hill with Causeway Films, as well as an online series with the ABC.
AFTRS HIGHLIGHT
The collaboration. My favourite memories are of long days in the edit suites working alongside my cohort of editors and directors with our mentors coming in and out with feedback and ideas.
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Finding an audience. All I have ever wanted to do is tell stories. To now have the opportunities to engage and share stories of my community with an audience, either in person at screenings, or online through streaming… that is, for me, the best part of it all.