FILM & COMMERCIAL

Biography

Samantha Nell is a filmmaker from South Africa. She completed her MFA at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts Asia in Singapore in 2014. In 2023, "Do Your Worst", her debut feature as a director, premiered globally on Netflix and charted in the Top Ten films in South Africa.

She is currently developing a second feature as well as a television series. She has participated at several development labs including: Realness Screenwriter's Residency, La Fabrique du Cinema du Monde, TIFF Talent Lab and Locarno Filmmaker's Academy.

She has produced short films on four continents and in 2012 her short film “Stiff” was selected for the Focus Features’ Africa First Program. It premiered at the 2014 Palm Springs International Shortsfest and won Best Short Film at the Africa International Film Festival in Nigeria.

She participated in the Cannes South Africa Film Factory in collaboration with Michael Wahrmann from Brazil and their short film “The Beast” premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Brazilian Academy Award. Her most recent short film “Love Motel”, shot on location in South Korea, premiered at Durban International Film Festival in 2017.