Sam Berliner (www.donutfilms.org) is a Seattle-based filmmaker and animator best known for his engaging and accessible films about gender non-conformity. His award-winning short films, Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure, Genderbusters, Perception and Float have screened at over 200 film festivals around the world and are distributed by CFMDC. When not actively making films, Sam is the festival director of Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival, as well as a Senior Programmer at Three Dollar Bill Cinema. He leads workshops and gives presentations about gender at various organizations and schools. He is in pre-production on Episode 2 of the Dating Sucks webseries and is the founder of Queer Scouts Bay Area and Queer Scouts Seattle, hosting monthly skill-shares for LGBTQA adults. Sam graduated in 2005 from Smith College with a BA in Film & Theatre and earned an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University in 2013.

Smarthouse Creative's Brad Wilke sits down with Sam Berliner, director of Three Dollar Bill Cienma's Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival, to talk about Berliner's work at the festival, his own filmmaking career, how he connects with his audience, and what to see at this year's Translations (May 3-12 in Seattle). They also cover Berliner's efforts building an IRL community at Translations and the importance of trans education & allyship via partnerships, panels, workshops and screenings.

You can check out Sam's Facebook page here:https://smrths.com/SB_FB

You can check out the Translations Film Festival website here:https://translationsfilmfest.org/Visit Sam’s current projects "Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure" and "FLOAT" here:https://smrths.com/SB_DatingMisdventures_FBhttps://smrths.com/SB_Float

TAMP music by Dude York.