- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Raised in remote, small-town Wisconsin, Sam was always fascinated by the daily oddities and dramas of Midwestern households. He grew up to earn his Creative Writing degree from Florida State University and work in a variety of different fields including accounting, marketing, journalism, copy editing, and travel media before eventually making his way to the MFA Production program at the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts. It was there that he found his voice as a writer-director specializing in real-time, slice of life dramas about human confrontation. He tends to think critically about the technical and narrative structure of film, and how context changes the significance of a story. He is currently based in Los Angeles, where he works in representation while cultivating his next project.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- Despite his ventures in live-action filmmaking, Bartz also has a passion for animated projects. He jokes that he may be the only person in the world who can easily include both WALL·E (2008) and There Will Be Blood (2007) among his favorite films.
- Beginning with his third live-action short film Void (2017), Sam Bartz directs without storyboarding. His first film, Raconteur (2015), was made with a simple illustrated shot list. His second film Concessions (2016) was storyboarded and pre-visualized from start to finish in Maya, a computer graphics software. Bartz was inspired to avoid storyboarding after experiencing a directing masterclass hosted by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins, who is a fellow alumnus of the Florida State University film school in addition to a champion of directing without storyboarding. Bartz enjoyed the creative process so much during the creation of Void (2017) that he decided to stick to it.
- Lists AMPAS members Mike Medavoy and Victor Nunez, as well as award-winning director Antonio Méndez Esparza, among his most prominent filmmaking mentors.
- Bartz was born and raised in the Midwest, completed his education in Florida, and is currently based in Los Angeles.
- Frequently collaborates with writer/director Malcolm Baity and screenwriter Shandton Williams with whom he attended the Florida State University film school. The three were roommates through the entirety of their Master of Fine Arts program experience and later made the move to Los Angeles together.
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