Photo by Sally Lawton
Sam Taffel is a found footage filmmaker, educator, performer and labor organizer from New York City. His work incorporates varying styles and methods, from analog glitch art to found footage collage to non-fiction experimental essay films. Sam Taffel's practice lies in investigating his relationship to performance, American iconography and architecture, and the Jewish Diaspora. By merging original forms with found media, his work indulges in kitsch while questioning the idea of authorship, on both cinematic and personal terms. His work has screened at galleries and festivals such as The Kitchen in New York City, ChaShaMa, Entrance Gallery, Woodbine, Onion City Film Festival, Light Matter Film Festival, The Winnipeg Underground Film Festival and many other unaccredited, DIY spaces. In 2023 he received his MFA in Cinematic Arts in The Film, Video, Animation and New Genres department from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, where he currently teaches as a Lecturer.