(photo provided by Sam Mirpoorian)
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. For Luddy alumnus Sam Mirpoorian, that story arc is on a rapid rise, with no end in sight. With a number of documentary shorts “in the can” along with more than several awards and recognitions, Mirpoorian can start to consider himself established as a producer/director, even more so with his recent film purchased by PBS’ acclaimed series, Independent Lens, via national television broadcast premiere.
Mirpoorian’s trajectory began in high school and continued through undergraduate and graduate Media Arts and Science (MAS) programs at Luddy Indianapolis. In 2016, he was a college senior and had just produced “Under the Bridge: The Criminalization of Homelessness,” which received Indy Film Fest’s “Best of Hoosier Lens Award”, and was working on “Little Warriors.” The heart-warming story of local middle schoolers petitioning the city of Indianapolis to take action on climate change, the short documentary film won Heartland Film Festival’s Indiana Spotlight Film Award in 2017.
He went on to work as editor and co-producer on “Destination Park” in 2018, along with fellow alumnus Brenton Oechsle, and the two helped premiere the film at Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. A couple years later, he was back on the circuit with “Sonnie”, which received great acclaim and multiple awards.
Since then he has worked on”Greener Pastures”; now showing at the Heartland International Film Festival in October 2023.
Thomas Lewis, video faculty and director of the Media Arts and Science program at Luddy Indianapolis, said, “It has been great to see Sam’s talent and tenacity paying off with the completion of so many high-quality films. I love that our alums are making a difference in the world with their skills.”
Mirpoorian always has five to 10 ideas that he is developing and said it’s not uncommon to have two in production at the same time. He said there are many variables for which films get noticed. “Relationships matter, who you know, how hard you work, luck, timing, quality, story.” And it is non-stop promoting once the film is made.
He noted that the film scene is good in Indianapolis, although not as strong as in Cincinnati and Louisville. But it is a cheaper city to work in for independents and offers unique and interesting environments in which to film.
If Mirpoorian has a brand—and he doesn’t claim one yet—it is his focus on societal issues, shining a light on the people that are disaffected and striving to do better. We could all use a little more of that perspective these days. Catch his latest doc, “Greener Pastures,” while it’s in town, and see for yourself.
Find screen times and tickets for Greener Pastures
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Joanne Lovrinic
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