SAMUEL R. PARSHALL, M.F.A., is an award-winning film and television producer/director. As a visionary artist, he has produced and directed various videos, films and television shows for corporations, networks, individuals and cable outlets on a variety of themes, ranging from public policy to lifestyle to news. He is the creative director behind Parshall Productions, an independent production company specializing in video and film production.
At the age of 12, Sam discovered his parent's Super 8mm film camera. After purchasing a dwindling supply of Kodachrome film stock direct from Kodak, he made his first rough film short: A day in the life of a dog, relayed from the perspective of a Scottish terrier.
The narrated shorts continued after Sam upgraded from his parents’ Super 8 mm camera to a top-line VHS camcorder. In his teenage years, Sam gave annual Christmas gifts in the form of video parodies of the movie blockbusters of that year.
Years after experimenting with film, Sam attended James Madison University’s school of media arts and design in hopes of refining his creative vision. There, he met a good friend that soon transferred to Virginia Tech. While visiting his friend at Tech, Sam suffered a near-death experience.
For the next eleven months, Sam would learn to walk and talk again through a regimen of extensive physical and occupational therapy. Neurophysiologists adamantly advised him not to return to college at the conclusion of his therapy, thinking him physically and intellectually unprepared for the rigors of schoolwork. Despite these recommendations however, Sam elected to take a few community college courses, and aced several of them in his first semester back at school.
Sam then returned to full-time coursework, and ultimately received his Bachelor’s of Science in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University in Virginia.
As it did for Sam, a near-death experience cannot help but leave an indelible mark on one’s life by shaping one’s ideas about art, life and the preciousness of both. A life-altering encounter was just the step needed to propel this tenacious young man to pursue a Master’s degree to further his career in storytelling. Sam and his then-pregnant wife uprooted themselves and moved across the country to California, where he received his Master’s of Fine Arts (Television and Film Production) from Chapman University, and achieved a GPA of 3.9.
Sam has gone on to use his creative talents on such projects as the Emmy award-winning documentary, Below the Surface, and the short film, Everest, which took first place in the best short film and best actress categories at the SMMASH Film Festival. He is certified in numerous electronic production programs, and his films have been official selections at the D.C. Independent, New York Minute and SMMASH Film Festivals.
Sam currently resides in California with his wife and three daughters.
