About SAMLAND
A desperate immigrant accepts a marriage of convenience from an unscrupulous drug dealer and family friend to a young woman running from her past, blinded by her addiction. Together, they search for the “American Dream” that seems to allude them as they travel down a dangerous path filled with deception and death, as they seek the truth about who they are, and how they fit into America’s distorted landscape.
CAST
Carlos Montilla is a well known Venezuelan actor in Latin America. He began his acting career in theater but soon he went on to star in many successful TV-Series that have aired in more than 50 countries worldwide such as: “La Loba Herida”, “Sirena”, “Mariú”, “Trapos Intimos”, “Ciudad Bendita” and many more. He also starred in, among others films, the critically acclaimed movie “La Oveja Negra” for which he got the prestigious motion picture award; Premio Municipal De Cine, as best actor. Other films and television credits include: Jane The Virgin, How To Get Away With Murder, Space Command, The Boatman, The Sentinel, E-ring. Carlos Montilla is also a singer and he’s currently living in Los Angeles.
Carlos Montilla - Paz
Hanna Balicki - Sam
Hanna Balicki is an American actress best known for Dark Waters: Murder in the Deep, and the soon to be released film Showdown on the Brazos. While residing in her home state of Florida, Hanna attended Florida Atlantic University where she received a B.S. in Biology. While working as a fitness instructor, Hanna decided to attend a local casting in Miami, FL to host a series of in-home fitness videos. While waiting in the casting office, she was scouted by a casting director who asked if she would audition for a pilot. Having no professional acting experience, it was to Hanna's surprise when she booked the callback, and eventually a leading role in the same show four years later. After graduating from University, Hanna relocated to Los Angeles, CA to continue to pursue her acting career. Almost instantly upon relocating to California, she found success in commercial acting having worked for brands such as Coca-Cola, NFL, Smartcar, and Disney. Hanna is repped by Clear Talent Group and National Talent LA.
Luis Fernandez is a Venezuelan actor, writer, producer and director. His credits include the recurring role of Alejandro Silva on CW's Dynasty. Also known for his tour-de-force performance in Golden Globe Official Entry for Foreign Language Film 2018 Tamara, Best Actor in Milan Film Fest, Fine Arts Film Fest. Dominican Republic and Yale University Latin American Film Festival. Awarded as best actor for his performances Caracas, Love onto Death, Un sueño en el abismo and Desnudo con Naranjas. As an author he's been in the top best-selling lists in Latin America for his series of essays Sexo Sentido (The Sex Sense) in which he based the TV Series The Sex Sense (writer and director) now in production.
Luis Fernandez - Jota Jota
Alejandro Patiño was born in Santa Maria, California where family still resides. He entered college as a Business Major and came out Acting & Dancing. He has been relentless in his pursuit of Acting goals, since then acquiring quite an extensive resume. His first ever film work came in the cult classic The Forbidden Zone Directed by Richard Elfman, that was the beginning. He has guest starred on several television programs including the recurring role of Ralph, Gabrielle Solis's new gardener, on the ABC series Desperate Housewives. Other appearances include Gentefied, House, Roswell, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development and Family Law.
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Alejandro Patiño - Nacho
Mimi Lazo is a Venezuelan actress and producer whose impressive credentials in film, television and stage have made her a household name in Latin America. Known for her roles in films like Liz in September, Tamara and the upcoming Where the summer went, The Gigantes and Samland. Awarded in several international film festivals, she’s also the star of many Telenovelas with worldwide success. On stage, she’s played leading roles from Shakespeare to Chekhov, and her iconic one-woman show The Applause is Within You has toured 15 countries and, with over 5000 performances, is the most successful show in Venezuela’s theater history. As a producer, her credits expand from film to Broadway musicals.
Mimi Lazo - Tia Lili
FILMMAKERS
Juan Pablo Reyes - Writer/Director/Producer
Juan Pablo is an American-Colombian filmmaker born and raised in Miami, Florida. A prolific and award winning director and dop for tv and film with 20+ years of experience. He has helmed content for the following broadcasters; HBO, ABC, FOX, VH1, MTV, BRAVO, BET and has overseen highly rated programs such as Basketball Wives and College Hill: Celebrity Edition.
His debut feature film, Samland, premiered as the official selection of the New York Latino Film Festival sponsored by HBO/Warner Media in 2021. Samland was co-written and directed by Juan Pablo Reyes as a tribute to all those who search for the American Dream. Samland went on to win the Best Narrative Feature at the Full Bloom Film Festival 2021; Best Director at the First Glance Film Festival in Philadelphia 2021; and Best First Time Feature Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival 2022.
Reyes holds a degree in motion picture technology and is a member of the Society of Camera Operators.
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William Garcia - Executive Producer/Producer
William Garcia, a Multi-Emmy award-winning producer is based in Los Angeles, California. A popular award-winning music video and commercial producer/director, he has filmed some of the biggest names in music including: musical legend Paul McCartney, Lenny Kravitz, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Michael Jackson, Juanes, Shakira, and Christina Aguilera just to name a few artists. William's feature films and television credits include many award-winning films in English and Spanish. In 2020 he produced the Horror hit Followed, Obsession, starring Brad Dourif and Mekhi Phifer, and the web series H8ters for studio Astronauts Wanted/Sony Entertainment.
In television and digital media, William has worked as a producer/dop for the following broadcasters; MTV, TLC, AWE, VH-1, Animal Planet, HBO, and many other network and cable companies. William is a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Diego Osorio - Executive Producer/Editor
Diego Osorio is a Venezuelan-American Filmmaker/Voiceover Artist. He’s been producer, director & editor for clients like Universal Music, Discovery Networks, The Latin Grammys, among others. He has obtained several award winning short films and music videos like The Telly Awards, Indie Short Fest, The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and several others. He has collaborated with top hispanic music artists like Marc Anthony, Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, to name a few. More recently he served as visual effects artist for Gravitas Venture’s indie film “Cuck” and has edited for companies like Radical Media, Spotify, Vimby and Group Nine. He's producing-directing two short films, "Sleeper" and the documentary "The Brave", both slated for 2021. Diego lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Michael Landrian - Executive Producer
Michael Landrian is a Cuban American businessman. Started working for himself at the age of 20. After running his business for 12 years closed shop to follow his dream of working in Film and Television production. Over the last 9 ​years he has produced content for MTV, Animal Planet, A&E, and Bravo.
Karen Herzog - Writer
Karen Herzog, co-writer of Samland, is a retired thirty-five year journalism/film teacher from Miami, Florida who now lives in Ocala, Florida. She writes screenplays, poetry, and is currently writing a mystery novel. She has taught at Miami-Dade College and on the graduate level at the University of South Florida. Herzog holds the following degrees: BA in Fine Arts from Florida State University; BA in English and MS from Florida International University; an MFA in Communications from University of Miami, and an MLS from the University of South Florida. Herzog’s interests include reading, politics, film, social issues, painting, and photography.
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Charles Leisenring - Writer
Charles Leisenring is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and disability rights advocate. He has created fully accessible Media Arts programs for the ADAPT Community Network in New York City and Rising Treetops at Oakhurst in Oakhurst, New Jersey. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Television, Radio & Film Production from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University in New York and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Cinematic Arts at USC in Los Angeles. Charles is the Co-Founder of Purple Sandbox production company and a founding Board Member of the 501(c)(3) PlasticFreeRestaurants.org. Samland (2021) is his first professional screenwriting credit and his third as an associate producer. His previous independent feature films include Then There Was Joe (2018) and The City of Gold (2018). He has worked on Ready Player One, Carol’s Second Act, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as produced a short web series for the Disney Digital Network. Charles has worked in London, England; Dublin, Ireland; São Paulo, Brazil; Antigua, Guatemala; New York City and Los Angeles.
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