Sam Hendrian is an LA-based independent filmmaker and poet striving to foster empathy through art. He has written, produced, and directed several short films and last year released his first feature film, Terrificman. Next summer, Sam intends to begin production on his second feature film, Decaf Daydreamers, a playful romantic dramedy starring two people with Down’s syndrome.
Our editor, Emma Purcell, got the opportunity to interview Sam Hendrian about his career as an independent filmmaker, how he uses themes of disability, mental health and well-being in his work and what we can expect from his new project Decaf Daydreamers.
Sam Hendrian on filmmaking, poetry, and disability representation
Sam began by telling us about himself and what first got him into filmmaking:
“I was born in Winfield, Illinois, and I spent most of my childhood in Geneva, a suburb 40 miles west of Chicago. I showed an interest in writing and making movies from an early age; with my mom’s help, I wrote my first story at seven years old, Sam’s Adventures.
“When my four younger siblings started coming along, I had a whole cast of actors with which to make short films, which occasionally guest-starred my grandparents, my neighbourhood friends, and my yellow Labrador Allie.
“After graduating high school in 2016, I attended an obscure private film school near San Diego, where I received a degree in Film Production and continued making short films of a more mature, nuanced quality.”
Although not identified as disabled himself, Sam shows great empathy for people with disabilities, health conditions and mental health disorders and is passionate about representing them in his film work.
He continued: “Having always had a welcoming and empathetic personality, I attracted many friends who were on the autism spectrum and frequently felt excluded by their other peers. This inspired me to create stories about social isolation and the need for genuine conversations beyond the stale script of ‘I’m good, how are you?’
“Then a year after college, I realised that despite all of Hollywood’s diversity initiatives, there was a lack of nuanced representation for actors with Down’s syndrome, so I made a short film called Penny that featured Brian Dovey, a wonderful actor with Down’s syndrome whom I met through a disability-focused casting agency.”
Sam regularly creates microbudget short films, often posting projects on Backstage.com to find actors. His films, shared on YouTube and at open mic nights, resemble visual poems, mostly silent, relying on facial expressions to tell the story.
A poet at heart, he writes daily, and this constant creativity brings both new friendships and inspiration for future work.
Discussing his work between filmmaking and poetry, Sam said: “I first started out as a filmmaker, making tons of little movies with my siblings and friends, then expanded into poetry when the turbulent emotions and changing perceptions of young adulthood became too much to endure without turning into some sort of art to share.”
Sam went on to share more about his short films and whether any of them include themes of disability, mental health or wellness:
“Almost all of my short films on YouTube are silent, and they explore some facet of mental health. Two of them, Penny and Hero, tell the story of a young man with Down’s syndrome who tries to uplift others but is frequently met with cold indifference. His disability is not meant to be the focus of either film; rather, I am attempting to show that people with disabilities experience the same broken dreams and quiet disappointments that we all do at some point in this life.
“Other personal favourite films I’ve made include You Look Good, a melancholic yet ultimately hopeful piece about a college student scared of going home for the holidays because of all the backhanded compliments her family will make about her body image, and Something Casual, a slightly humorous but ultimately meditative exploration of modern dating and its confusing inconsistencies.”
Terrificman: Sam Hendrian’s first feature film focusing on mental health
In March 2024, Sam released his first feature film, Terrificman, a superhero movie inspired by his first fictional character and drawing on the themes of mental health, suicide and empathy.
Filmed solely on his smartphone, Sam gave us more details about Terrificman, and what inspired him to create it:
“One of the first fictional characters I came up with as a seven-year-old kid was Terrificman, as I was enthralled by the Sam Raimi Spiderman and Richard Donner Superman movies, and I wanted to create a superhero of my own.
“At the time, he had super strength and teleportation powers, but years later, when I was in college, I was constantly meeting people who struggled with depression and suicidal ideation, and I realised that enhanced empathy might be a more essential superpower to possess.
“And so a revised plot for my childhood story was born, a tale of a melancholic writer who receives hyper-empathetic abilities from a mysterious batch of cookie dough, inspiring him to become a sort of renegade superhero for the heart and soul rather than the life and limb.
“Because the story felt so timely and crucial to my own mission as an ‘empathy activist,’ I decided to make it on a practically nonexistent budget with whatever resources I could obtain, even starring in it and using several friends’ apartments as sets. Because of its extremely low-budget nature, some may find it hard to sit through, but others have resonated with its themes and whimsical storytelling, and for this, I am deeply grateful.”
Watch Terrificman Trailer
How Sam Hendrian is showcasing actors with Down’s syndrome in Decaf Daydreamers
Next summer, Sam is planning to begin production on his second microbudget feature film, Decaf Daydreamers, a playful romantic dramedy starring Brian Dovey and Renee Morneau, two actors with Down’s syndrome.
Sam explained more about this new project and how he came up with the idea:
“I was first inspired to write Decaf Daydreamers when I saw the film Champions and felt thrilled to see diversity within the diversity; people with disabilities were swearing and making raunchy jokes and transcending the patronising stereotypes that well-meaning filmmakers with wholesome tendencies had previously limited them to.
“I realised I could write a romantic comedy that was playful, occasionally off-colour, and different from anything else Hollywood had thus far made about people with disabilities. It would show them as normal individuals, not cute, cuddly angels who are only there to make you smile.
“I also wanted to give Brian Dovey, the actor I’d worked with on Penny and Hero, a starring role in a feature film, so this seemed like it would be the perfect vehicle for him.”
Sam continued to share how he was introduced to Brian Dovey and Renee Morneau and told us more about them:
“I was introduced to Brian Dovey and Renee Morneau through two separate casting agencies that specifically work with the disabled community. Brian is a delightful actor and athlete who lives in Orange County, and Renee is both an actress and a model who lives in San Diego and has won several beauty pageants in the area.”
In terms of his knowledge and understanding of Down’s syndrome, Sam added, “I had plenty of basic, scientific knowledge about Down’s syndrome before meeting them, but getting to know them revealed all the wonderful nuances and temperaments that scientific facts can never account for. Brian is warm and a bit shy while also possessing a quiet wittiness, and Renee is feisty as heck and unafraid to speak her mind whenever she feels like it. They complement each other beautifully, and I’ve learned so much from them already.”
Sam gave a bit more insight into his plans for the production process of Decaf Daydreamers:
“We’re still struggling to find financial resources for the film, but Decaf Daydreamers will be filmed with a more professional camera than Terrificman and utilise a greater variety of production and post-production equipment. However, it will still be a completely independent project, and I intend to edit it myself.
“Once the film is completed in early 2027, I aim to premiere it in Los Angeles and then find an independent distributor who will make it available for streaming online all over the world.”
Watch Decaf Daydreamers rehearsal clip
Sam Hendrian on accessibility in film, upcoming projects, and advice for independent filmmakers
As well as Sam’s work in representing disability on screen, he later assured us that he is aware of the importance of accessibility features in films, including audio description, subtitles and sign language for blind and deaf audiences and does consider featuring these in future projects:
“I am growing increasingly aware of accessibility each year! I used to take that sort of thing for granted or as an afterthought, but now I realise how important it is to add accessible features to movies, and I will work to ensure that Decaf Daydreamers has audio description and subtitles.”
Sam also mentioned some other projects he has coming up over the next year:
“I try to make at least one short film per month, and I am also working on two stage plays. The first one, Cupcake With Blue Frosting, is about a kindergarten teacher who secretly works nights as a dancer at a seedy nightclub to uplift socially awkward/despairing men like her late cousin Louis, who died by suicide. It explores a variety of themes, such as the limits of good intentions, the undisclosed nuances of male loneliness, and the difficulty of caring for others when you don’t take good care of yourself.
“The second play, Footnote, examines the haunted life of Frank Churchill, the little-known composer of Snow White, Bambi, and Dumbo, who was also a depressed alcoholic behind the scenes.”
Lastly, Sam gave some valuable advice to other independent filmmakers:
“The only right thing to do is the wrong thing; in short, don’t limit yourself to stale phrases like ‘That’s just the way it works’ and other limiting concepts of what’s ‘professional’ and what’s ‘marketable’.
“Yes, there is some science involved in filmmaking, but it is primarily an art, so you need to live as an artist and constantly create with whatever resources you have. Don’t raise $10,000 to make a derivative little horror film that will win some festival awards and then disappear into obscurity.
“Pick up your smartphone if you have to and make something that captures your own perspective on the world, even if it takes a while to be seen and appreciated by others. It is absolutely essential that you develop a unique voice as a storyteller. The world is filled with imitators but very few genuine artists; choose to be the latter!”
You can keep up-to-date with his latest projects and watch his films by following Sam Hendrian on Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.