Lukas Chin

Fundraising Progress

$0 raised of $12,000 goal
0% funded

Fiscally Sponsored by Fractured Atlas • All contributions are 100% tax-deductible.

Synopsis

At a party where every guest is named Sam, Main Character Sam gets cut in line for the bathroom by another party goer, Bearded Sam. To make matters worse, Bearded Sam then comes out of the bathroom without washing his hands. To Main Character Sam's disgust, he then proceeds to put those same hands all over the food at the party.

No one else seems to care. Not the host. Not his friends. Main Character Sam can't let it go. When Bearded Sam later spills dip on the couch and quietly flips the cushion to hide it, Main Character Sam finally explodes and accidentally exposes a much bigger awkward truth about Bearded Sam.

Sam I Am — mood and setting

Director's Statement

Sam I Am — tone reference
"Aside from being a filmmaker, I'm also a teacher and an outdoor educator and so much of my work is about watching people navigate social situations. The small, awkward, mortifying moments are usually the funniest, once you step back and think about it. Sam I Am is inspired by all my own awkward social moments. Our main character is technically right, you should wash your hands, but how far do you go to make sure someone does? I love the moment when you push too far and everything shatters. That's what happens in this film." — Lukas Chin, Writer/Director

About the Director

Lukas Chin is a filmmaker based in New York City. He recently made a TikTok about hamburgers and a short comedy about hot dogs (Frank's Franks), and is excited to branch out with the short film he's making called Sam I Am, which features chips and dip. Aside from filmmaking, Lukas is an outdoor education instructor and a caretaker for adults with special needs, work he's done in New York, Colorado, and the backcountry. He completed his BFA in Film at SUNY Purchase and is currently pursuing his MFA at City College of New York. His short films have shown at New Faces New Voices Film Festival (Winner, Best Documentary), Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, and Wisconsin Film Festival.

Previous Comedy Shorts

Please take a look at some of my previous comedy work.

Frank's Franks

When a man runs out of hot dogs trying to impress his girlfriend's parents, his increasingly desperate attempts to please them reveal that some things cannot be replicated.

He's a Ten Out of Ten But...

A woman uses a dinner party game to propose to her boyfriend in the most humiliating way possible.

The Sams

The Sams — Main Character Sam, Host Sam, and Bearded Sam
Main Character Sam

Annoying. Maybe charming, but not sure to who. The kind of guy who's technically right about everything but no one cares.

Host Sam

Warm, social, party organizer. The voice of reason for Main Character Sam.

Bearded Sam

Awkward, severe anxiety, clumsy, desperately looking for community. Leaves his apartment for the first time in years.

Sam I Am — art direction and visual mood

Where Your Donation Goes

Production Costs (cast, crew, gear, locations, props) $9,150
Post-Production Costs (sound mix, color grading, DCP delivery, festival submissions) $2,850
Total Budget $12,000

Picture Lock: April 2027  ·  Festival Submissions: Spring 2027

Special Thanks

Hi! Making movies is hard and requires a lot of collaboration and people coming together. I've been working on this film for a while, and I'd love to get people on board and pay them fairly for their time. Almost all of our budget goes toward paying cast and crew and feeding them well.

Thank you for supporting independent comedy filmmaking!

Everyone who donates will be thanked by name in the film's end credits under Special Thanks.

Sam I Am is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Sam I Am must be made payable to "Fractured Atlas" only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.