Originally from a working-class rural village in the West Midlands, Samantha is a director of film and television. She went off to art college and worked as a fine artist until the storytelling bug led her to filmmaking. Her work centres around cinematic storytelling, powerful performances and strong female characters - encompassing drama, the blackest comedy and complex thrillers. Samantha has recently directed the feature length, opening episode of McDonald & Dodds S4, (Mammoth Screen / ITV Studios.) And cover days on the lead block of the new adaptation of The Forsyte Saga (Mammoth Screen / PBS Masterpiece), starring, Danny Griffin, Tuppence Middleton, Stephen Moyer, Jack Davenport, Francesca Annis, Millie Gibson, Joshua Orpin, Jamie Flatters and Susan Hampshire .
Her previous TV credits include, C4 single drama, Call It A Night, starring Andrew Simpson, (Notes on A Scandal,) as part of the Coming Up series (C4 / /Zodiak Media). Samantha has also directed drama for BBC1, Holby City, Doctors, and featured on the BBC Hot New Talent list. As a Writer / Director her award winning short films, include Breathe and Copier, screening at numerous international Festivals, including, Edinburgh IFF, Rotterdam IFF and Cucalorus. She was also selected for the DUK, High End TV Drama Directors Programme, working on Call The Midwife, as placement Director with Neal Street productions.
Samantha is developing two original TV series: Lovelocked, anthology of intertwined, inter-generational, love stories, set in Paris and the UK, with producer Michael Eagle-Hodgson (Gangs of London) and Bite, with writer Nicola Mills, a genre redefining, revenge thriller through the gaze of female fury of the post #MeToo generation. She is also working on her first feature film: a psychological thriller, Orchestra.
She is a graduate of the National Film and Television School, where she was awarded a scholarship from the David Lean Foundation for her MA in Fiction Direction. Her graduation film Love Letters, was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award. In recent years Samantha has been selected for Guiding Lights and mentored by Academy Award winner Kevin MacDonald. She has also been part of Network EIFF working with Kate Leys and Peter Ettedgui and reached the final round of Microwave with Film London. She is also an alumni of the prestigious INSPIRE Directors UK 2021 programme mentored by Philippa Lowthorpe and was been selected for BFI NETWORK X BAFTA Crew 2021 as a writer - director. Samantha is also a co-founder of Cinesisters the female directors collective.
Represented for Film and TV by: Hannah Young at Curtis Brown | Hannah.Young@curtisbrown.co.uk | https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/samantha-harrie