challenging how gender based violence is recognised, represented and understood through filmmaking and visual art
About Sam Joseph Studios
Sam Joseph Studios is a London-based creative independent film, production and installation studio led by filmmaker and visual artist Sam Joseph, working across filmmaking, installation, and visual art. The studio develops interdisciplinary, collaborative projects that examine how cinema and visual culture shape understandings of gender-based violence, social justice, and lived experience within both public and domestic spaces.
At the core of the studio’s practice is filmmaking as a creative and critical tool. Through narrative and hybrid forms, the work offers an alternative to dominant cinematic portrayals of violence against women, rejecting victim stereotypes, sensationalism, and passive narratives in favour of nuanced, ethically engaged storytelling grounded in feminist film theory and spatial practice.
Sustainability, care, and equity are embedded throughout the studio’s productions. All films aim to achieve certification through BAFTA Albert, with environmental accountability integrated into budgeting. Projects are developed in consultation with impact producers, alongside wellbeing strategies that prioritise psychological safety, inclusive working conditions, and anti-harassment training across all teams.
The studio is committed to authentic storytelling through diverse perspectives, inspiring inclusive production environments, and creating films and artworks that act as tools for advocacy, dialogue, and cultural change.
Sam Joseph Founder/Creative Director
Sam Joseph (b. Leeds, Yorkshire) is a London-based auteur director, writer, producer and visual artist whose work interrogates the intersections of gender, space, and systemic inequality. Working in film and visual art, her practice explores socio-spatial narratives, sustainability, and the lived realities of gender-based violence, with a distinct focus on how these dynamics manifest in both private and public environments. As the auteur of her projects, she designs the sets and define the entire visual aesthetic to ensure a singular vision.
Sam’s debut short film, (IN)VISIBLE, has garnered 14 awards and screened at 27 international film festivals, with a strong presence across platforms championing human rights, social justice, and women-led storytelling. The film establishes Sam’s signature approach: a visually sensitive, emotionally precise cinematic language that foregrounds women’s resilience while challenging entrenched societal norms and gendered power structures.
Sam’s work is defined by its ability to bridge the personal and the political, weaving intimate narratives with broader collective experience. Her interdisciplinary background informs a nuanced engagement with spatial dynamics and audience perception, creating work that is both formally considered and socially urgent. Her projects have been exhibited and screened internationally, including at Milan Design Week and on the BBC Big Screen. Critically recognised for its authenticity and human insight, (IN)VISIBLE was described by the Rome Independent Film Festival as “a narrative of great emotional intensity marked by visual sensitivity and a deeply empathetic language.”
Sam is currently developing her debut feature that continues to expand her exploration of feminist storytelling through bold, visually driven narratives with global resonance.
An RCA graduate (MA Print, MA Interior Design) and RCA p/t PhD researcher and is a member of Women in Film and Television.
Sam is neurodivergent and has monocular vision.
A survivor of domestic violence.
ethical storytelling
social justice and representation
wellbeing
Sustainability & responsibility