Oscar-Nominated Director Sam Davis on Creating ‘The Singers,’ Finding His Stars, and His Own Path to Filmmaking [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
“I graduated with like, 45 kids. I wasn’t steeped in arts growing up.”
Sam Davis didn’t begin in Hollywood, like most before him, he came somewhere far, far away. In his case, a small town in Michigan where being a filmmaker didn’t seem like a normal path but where he was able to curate his passion for it nonetheless. One that has led him to be a two-time Academy Award nominee.
That’s where our conversation begins, with Davis’ origin story, his father was the local high school’s football coach and that gave him access to the video camera that was used to record the games. “I got my hands on it and sorta never put it down,” he says. From there, making war films with friends and continuing to tinker through high school, Davis found himself able to work on some films due to a huge tax break the state was offering productions. Then, in true Hollywood style, he packed up what he had and set out west to pursue his dream.
He says, even after living in Los Angeles for 12 years that he’s not always at the same cinephile level as his filmmaker friends. “I’m still learning. I think my approach to moviemaking is much more instinctual than as a student of cinema.” He’s also not used to doing as much face-forward press and promotion for a film, usually leaving that to his fellow filmmakers. But, with Netflix having recently picked up the film, Davis is learning that part quickly.
As we get into his newest film, The Singers, based on Ivan Turgenev’s 1850 short story about a ragtag group of men in a quiet, remote bar who engage in an impromptu sing-off. His cast of characters is a wild mix of reality show winners, TikTok stars and first-time actors, all blending together to make up a funny and warm story of brotherhood. Many of the performers had no agent or publicist to speak of, some he messaged on social media in hopes of getting them to audition, with several never responding.
On January 22, Davis was Oscar-nominated for the 18-minute short, which had already garnered wins for Best Director and Best International Film at HollyShorts London, the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short and Audience Choice Award for Narrative at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival and Best Cinematography in the Professional Competition at SCAD Film Festival. Davis also acts as his own cinematographer on the film, as he has in his previous works.
This isn’t Davis’ first time at the Oscar rodeo; he was nominated alongside friend and longtime filmmaking collaborator Sean Wang as a producer on Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó, which was nominated for Best Documentary Short Film two years ago. He was also one of several producers on 2018’s Oscar-winning doc short Period. End of Sentence.
Sam Davis is Oscar-nominated in the Best Live Action Short Film category for The Singers, which will premiere on Netflix February 13.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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