Samantha Sanders

Producer/Director/Writer

An excerpt from the Cine Eagle award-winning short film Gypsy Blood. Production design by John Farbrother.

Gypsy Blood

Short documentary: As the brutal Chicago winter draws near, Deirdre, Helen and Jennefer—avid open water swimmers—make a pact to continue through the snow and ice as the pandemic rages on. This intense commitment becomes their salvation from lockdown and helps alleviate each of their personal struggles. Initially just acquaintances, Swimming Through follows their friendship as it coalesces around their commitment to the daily ritual of swimming at sunrise in Lake Michigan.
RT: 15 minutes, 2022

Screenings and awards:
Doc10 Film Festival- Worldwide premier – Audience Award winner (May 2022)
Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival – Official Selection (August 2022)
San Francisco Short Film Festival – Best US Documentary (October 2022)
Lake Placid Film Festival – Best Documentary (October 2022)
New Orleans International Film Festival – Official Selection (November 2022)
Ojai Film Festival – Festival Theme Award Winner “Enriching the human spirit through film” (November 2022)
Lunafest (Touring January – December 2023)
Sedona International Film Festival (Feb 2023)
McMinnville Film Festival – Nominated for Best Documentary (Feb 2023)
Santa Fe Film Festival (Feb 2023)
Salem Film Festival (March 2023)
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival (March 2023) 
Minnesota Intl. Film Festival (March 2023)
Washington DC Intl. Film Festival (April 2023)
River Run International Film Festival (April 2023)
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (April 2023)

Swimming Through

Two strangers, both folk musicians stranded in California, take a road trip to New York in the days after 9/11. A story about the kindness of strangers and the power of music.

American Folk

In the Puerto Rican neighborhood of Chicago's Humboldt Park, lies interwoven tales of passion, violence and betrayal. From the overambitious beauty queen who will do whatever it takes to win to the drug dealers.

Samantha Sanders

Producer/Director/Writer

Swimming Through

Gypsy Blood

American Folk

Chicago Boricua

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