Sam Now
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REVIEWS
“There are very few projects as impactful as SAM NOW. Balancing a dynamic energy with haunting emotions, the film is a focused slice of real life that captures a truth so powerful and complex that it simply can't be fully understood in the realm of fiction. The feature is touching in all the right ways and stands tall as one of the best films of the year.”
- Carson Timar, Clapper
"Reed Harkness has made a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime film. Filled with intimate family footage, SAM NOW feels like a novel or a well-crafted drama, but it’s all too true. It’s a truly artistic documentary, which should be seen and embraced by discerning audiences in North America and abroad."
- Marc Glassman, POV Magazine
“A meticulous excavation of a family that's riveting from the jump, delivering the full spectrum of emotions in a fantastically artistic, honest and satisfying package that's hands-down one of our faves of the fest."
- Movie Pie
“The movie comes alive once the mystery appears to have been solved. What follows is a remarkably complex exploration of fractured family dynamics that calls to mind Maggie Gyllenhaal’s THE LOST DAUGHTER in its nonjudgmental gaze and naked vulnerability."
- M
att Fagerholm, RogerEbert.com
“Delightful is not a word you’d expect to hear describing a film about a 14-year-old boy abandoned by his otherwise loving mother. But in director Reed Harkness’ SAM NOW, the delight comes from Sam, the filmmaker’s charismatic half-brother. Harkness captures the heart of his family in good times and bad... SAM NOW is frustrating, heartfelt, and indeed, delightful."
- Thom Ernst, Original Cin
“The film shines because of its light, thoughtful and compassionate approach to its subjects… SAM NOW is a road movie, a coming-of-age, a healing journey, and a complex portrait of abandonment. It’s also a moving ode to the power of brotherhood and, in many ways, an exhibition of how a filmmaker evolves through the years. ”
- Ricardo Gallegos, But Why Tho
“The film that changed my life... I hate to sound dramatic but my viewing of SAM NOW felt almost supernatural. I had read about how sometimes great art can make you feel that way, how it can totally gut you, transform you, chew you up and spit you out in the best of all ways, but I had never experienced that phenomenon myself, not until that moment."
- Jennifer Julia, Telluride Daily Planet
“A creative adventure into self-discovery that casualties in life often repeat themselves inflicting harm on the next generation.”
- Robert K. Stephen, Set The Bar
“SAM NOW reminds us that, while the road to healing is never a straight line, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth traveling.”
- Steve Norton, In The Seats
"Edited with precision, SAM NOW explores many emotional topics which include emotional child abuse and narcissism with finesse and even humour. Scenes of discomfort marry beautifully with lighthearted ones... I cannot wait to see what Director Reed Harkness will do next.
-  Mr. Will Wong
"A quite fascinating multi-decade journey of self-discovery."
- Sean Kelly, SK On Movies
“The film offers an engaging and nuanced glimpse into this unique family situation, and a moving reminder of how the choices that parents make impact their kids, in a cycle that continues until someone makes the effort to stop it.”
-  John Corrado, Joy of Movies
"It's a masterful editing achievement to stitch an 80-minute family portrait from material that could so easily be precious, overlong and myopic. Instead, the film balances the constant allure of the past with the irresolvable present."
-  Chance Solem-Pfeifer, Willamette Week
“SAM NOW finds optimism in the midst of heartbreak. Despite the tear-jerking events that occur in this film, it was a heartwarming piece. It offers viewers hope for the future, despite what may have happened in the past. SAM NOW took care to ensure that its audience would leave the film with optimism for themselves and others.”
- Megan Hohl, SCAD District
“It impacted so many of my emotions and not in the way you'd expect… The people in this film go through things in a very unexpected way, they reach peace and comfort all differently. It was refreshing, enlightening. Beautifully shot too.”
- Studio Gabe, Letterboxd
“Days after seeing the film I am still pondering it. The film kicked up all sorts of thoughts and feelings about things in my own life that I haven't thought of or wanted to ponder... You really should see this and see how it hits you. This is a really good film and is highly recommended.”
- Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
"There are lots of wonderful things about this film, and it also just says SO MUCH. It gave me many, many feels about family, abandonment, relationships, trauma, feeling trapped, needing to do whatever it takes to heal yourself and auuugggghhhh just so much other complicated life stuff. I highly recommend you check out this thought-provoking and endearing documentary!"
- Imaginary Amie, Three Imaginary Girls

COVERAGE
"SAM NOW Filmmakers Discuss 25 Year Journey to Complete a Deeply Personal Documentary."
- Film Independent
"The film stood out to all of us as the finest that cinema can do. Which is sending the viewer on a journey of introspection and questioning of human life and human relationships. In our crazy and collapsing world, being able to understand, accept and reach for the others is certainly crucial to remember."
- Jury, Zurich Film Festival
"The jury further recognizes SAM NOW with an honorable mention for its intimate approach to storytelling. Using a participatory style that includes his own narration, as well as home movies and verite footage captured over two decades, Reed Harkness provides a closeup look at the complex family dynamics surrounding him and his brother Sam. Through a deeply personal account, the film reflects universal truths on trauma and healing in relationships that can resonate with everyone."
- Jury, Port Townsend Film Festival
"The experience of watching SAM NOW, a 2022 documentary with roots in Seattle, is as painful as it is poetic."
- Chase Hutchinson, The Stranger
"O mother, where art thou? Portland film offers meditation on family loss and trauma."
- John Notarianni, Oregon Public Broadcasting
"38th IDA Documentary Awards Nominees: Best Editing... SAM NOW"
- International Documentary Association
"The International Documentary Association (IDA) has revealed the nominations for the 38th IDA Documentary Awards. Comprising 18 categories ranging from Best Feature Film and Best Short Film to Best Curated Series and Best Episodic Series, the awards ceremony is meant to support the vital work of documentary storytellers and champion a thriving and inclusive documentary culture... Best Editing Nominees... SAM NOW"
- Marcus Jones, IndieWire
"The Seattle Film Critics Society Announces Nominees for First Annual Pacific Northwest Filmmaking Award"
- Seattle Film Critics Society
"One of SAM NOW's most intriguing dimensions is that the Harknesses are a problem-burying clan, but with a journalist in their midst."
- Chance Solem-Pfeifer, Willamette Week
"The obsessive documentation of the brothers’ childhood in Reed Harkness’ documentary SAM NOW, where they are playing with cameras and making movies, is just beautiful. It’s such an incredible storehouse of feeling. And then the film becomes an investigation or excavation of their family that is very unusual."
- Tamara Jenkins, RogerEbert.com
"An entirely immersive, engrossing, shocking, deeply emotional and amusing documentary. It’s got a universal heart center that’s about belonging, empathy, compassion and how we’re all shaped by our families. There’s enormous creativity and heart packed into this film. I can’t say enough: it’s perfect!"
- BendFilm
"SAM NOW is a spellbinding look at generational trauma, the power of art and the cycles of life we can become trapped inside."
- Jared Rasic, Bend Source
"Award-winning family documentary by Oregon filmmaker screens at Bend festival."
- Steven Tonthat, Oregon Public Broadcasting
"An intimate, poetic work... and a sensitive exploration of how trauma can be passed on from one generation to another."
- Kristi Turnquist, The Oregonian
"It takes tenacity and talent to effectively communicate family dynamics to viewers who haven’t spent decades immersed in them, and to connect those dynamics to broader truths. But that’s what Portland-based filmmaker Reed Harkness does in SAM NOW, a film he’s been making, in one form or another, for the last twenty-five years."
- Marc Mohan, Oregon Arts Watch
"It's a remarkable story, which is a reminder that truth is stranger than fiction."
- Ed Condran, The Spokesman-Review
"Westdoc Online: SAM NOW filmmakers discuss family dynamic behind new doc"
- Andrew Jeffrey, REALSCREEN
"Reed Harkness' hauntingly emotional debut feature documentary"
- Film School Radio
"OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL and SAM NOW Win Top Awards at 2022 Indie Memphis Film Festival"
- VIMooZ
"Indie Memphis Film Festival celebrates 25th anniversary."
- Action News 5

Sam Now v2.mp4 from Chuck Braverman on Vimeo.

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Press Inquiries: samnowmovie@gmail.com
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