The Holding Room
The murderer has been caught — but who is he? Why did he commit the crimes? Detective Mike Hamartia just can’t stop thinking about it and enlists his friends Detective Frank Sutter and Dr. Sarah Birch to help him think through the possibilities. But they don’t have much time; an FBI unit is coming to take away their John Doe, and with him any hope they have of ever understanding what happened.
Samuel J Punto is a German-American writer and director. At age 17, he already has three successful short films on his resume.
His awards include the Special Jury Award at the Visionale Frankfurt in 2019 (as the youngest ever recipient) and again in 2021; German National Youth Film Festival Winner 2020; Best Young Director at the Indie Short Fest in Los Angeles 2021; Indie Film Library Experimental Showcase Audience Choice Award 2021; and Nominee Representing Germany for the Youth Cinema Network Award, 2021-22.
Samuel’s short film, Verzerrung (Distortion), was selected for over 30 festivals on four continents including Dances With Films in Los Angeles, where it played in the Chinese Theatre, Mill Valley Film Festival in California, Collectiv Jeune Cinema in Paris, International Symbolic Arts Festival in St. Petersburg, and the All American High School Film Festival in New York.
In 2022, Samuel was asked to be a juror for the German National Youth Film Festival. His movies to date have been made on Super-8 and 16mm analog film. He feels that the material not only encourages meticulous planning and discipline on set, but also provides a unique aesthetic.