Biography
Born in Tehran, Iran, Saman developed an interest in filmmaking as a teenager. He worked as a cinematographer on short films during his high school years, notably on Seyed Hamed Hosseini's "The Marsh (2002)," which exposed the secret lifestyle of Iranian youth, including online dating, underground parties, and drug use. The movie was banned by the government, prior to its premiere at the prestigious Baran Women's Short Film Festival.
With the encouragement of his young filmmaker friends, Saman shot and directed his first short film, "Allow the Wind to Take You Wherever It Wants (2003)," at the age of eighteen. The film chronicles a day in the life of a young poet, coping with loneliness with his parents away on a trip abroad and disappointment over his girlfriend forgetting their first anniversary.
That same year, Saman moved to Los Angeles to formally study filmmaking. He enjoyed success with "Allow the Wind" receiving the Best Directing, Screenwriting, and Cinematography awards from Santa Monica College's Student Filmmakers Association Film Festival. At SMC, Saman majored in Film Studies and also studied photography and music. He fell in love with world cinema, particularly Italian Neorealism, as well as the works of Charlie Chaplin and Woody Allen, which later influenced his own work.
Saman earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in Cinema with an emphasis on Cinematography from Columbia College Hollywood. At CCH, he teamed up with the best of his peers and served as cinematographer on five thesis films and independent projects as well as writing, directing, and shooting his own thesis film. He also completed an internship with cinematographers Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC and Alex Nepomniaschy, ASC.
"The Old Car (2010)" is Saman's first short film written and directed in the United States. The film is a dramedy about how a seemingly simple, mundane object can evoke nostalgia, transporting us back in time to relive memories that shape who we are. "The Old Car" was well received as the closing film at the Columbia College Hollywood's Film Festival for the Industry in 2010.
Saman's thesis film, "$lowdown (2011)," which tackled the impact of the 2008 recession on mental health, premiered at the 4th annual Las Vegas Film Festival and won the Golden Ace Award for "superior filmmaking" in the Student Film Competition. It also received nominations for "Best Short Film" and "Best Actor" at the 4th Annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles, and toured to San Francisco, Daytona Beach, and San Diego with the festival's promotion of Iranian-American filmmakers. This tragic drama focuses on the story of a homeless man portrayed by Ali Saam (Argo (2012)) and a bank employee getting laid off portrayed by JT Alexander (10 Cent Pistol (2014)).
Between 2011 and 2016, Saman produced Gene Ivery's feature, "Tourbillon (2016)," which had its world premiere at SCI-FI-LONDON. He also produced and directed various sketches and a late-night TV talk show titled "Minutes with Max Amini (2014)" for stand-up comedian and actor, Max Amini, that aired on VOA Persian.
In 2024, Saman completed post-production of his directorial debut feature, "A St. Petersburg Tale" (Peterburgskaya Istoriya), a dramedy shot in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which he also co-wrote and produced, starring Aleksei Shtukin, Artur Vakha and Oksana Bazilevich in the Russian-language. He is also completing post-production on a feature documentary titled "Alam High School" about an elite and innovative school in Mashhad, Iran, that opened in 1969 and was closed down following the 1979 Iranian Revolution to become a prison for political dissidents, including some former students.
As a cinematographer, Saman has worked on a wide range of short films, documentaries, TV shows, music videos, and commercials. In 2021 and 2024, he earned Best Cinematography nominations from the Wild Bunch Western Film Festival for both "The Unspoken Badge (2021)" and its prequel "Sheriff Walter Johnson" directed by Theodore Carl Flood.
