AI Filmmakers Directory · Pro members, text version
Samuel Schrag
New York, New York, US
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About
Samuel Schrag is a Swiss-New Zealand writer and director based in New York, USA. A Maori filmmaker, he won the Gold Award at the Runway AI Film Festival (AIFF 2024) for "Pounamu" — a hypnotic 4-minute short following a kiwi bird chasing a dream through a dreamlike wilderness. The film, which took five weeks to create, earned widespread acclaim from Forbes, TechCrunch, and TheWrap, and was screened at both the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles and Metrograph in New York City. Schrag uses AI as a collaborative storytelling tool to overcome geographical limitations and time constraints, exploring themes of migration, cultural identity, and perseverance. His work represents a powerful fusion of indigenous storytelling traditions with cutting-edge AI filmmaking techniques using Runway's generative AI tools.