The award-winning documentary Sam Now released the official theatrical trailer and announced the first set of theatrical opening cinemas.
The film will be theatrically distributed by 8 Above with week-long runs beginning April 6 at the Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles and on April 7 at the Village East Cinemas in New York. The director, lead subject and members of the filmmaking team will be in attendance for opening weekends in Los Angeles and New York. A nationwide expansion will follow in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Portland and other select markets. The film will launch its National TV Broadcast on PBS Independent Lens on May 8, 2023.
What do two film-obsessed brothers do to solve a family mystery? Using every video format imaginable, they make a movie as they travel thousands of miles looking for their missing mom. Stitching together 25 years of home videos and filling the gaps in the archive with play, Sam Now is a mosaic of love, longing and loss, as well as an attempt to overcome intergenerational trauma.
“I am excited that Sam Now will be opening in theaters,” states the film’s director Reed Harkness. “As a teen, I watched every independent film I could get my hands on from the local video store. I loved coming-of-age movies. I loved Truffaut and Apted. But nothing existed quite like what I really wanted to see, so over the next 25 years, I made this movie. It’s totally, exactly the film I’ve wanted to see. I hope that anyone who watches Sam Now can find a piece of themselves within it.”
Following its World Premiere at Hot Docs 2022, the film has screened at over 30 film festivals, winning 12 total awards, seven for Best Documentary. These festivals include the Zurich Film Festival 2022, SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2022, Bend Film Festival 2022, Santa Cruz Film Festival 2022, Indie Memphis Film Festival 2022, Spokane International Film Festival 2023 and the Victoria Film Festival 2023.
Watch the official trailer for Sam Now.