With more than two decades of experience as a film editor, Samantha MacAdam is a Canadian-Caribbean director and award-winning screenwriter, dubbed by Playback as One to Watch
Sam’s career began in film editing, where she honed her skill for timing and pacing—an invaluable asset in her directing work. Over the past decade, she has directed numerous pilots, television series, short films, TV movies, and commercials. Her credits include CTV and Crave’s Shelved, a comedy from showrunner Anthony Q. Farrell (The Office), produced by Colin Brunton (Schitt’s Creek), as well as the romantic comedy HARLEQUIN book adaptation Savvy Sheldon, starring Amber Riley (Glee), with Neshama Entertainment, Bell Media, Centinel, The CW, and Fox Studios.
Her first original short film, Prom Night—which she wrote, co-edited, and directed—premiered at Just For Laughs in Kevin Hart’s LOL Showcase, where it was a top-five finalist out of 650 films and won Audience Favorite. She is currently developing Prom Night aka Empty Nesters into a feature. The Director’s Cut of Prom Night was recently selected as the winner of the Stage 32 2025 Short Film Program and opened the 2025 Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
She also directed four record-breaking episodes of the Canadian classic comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a thriller-drama TV movie for A&E and Lifetime, and Fashionably in Love, a romantic comedy TV movie for Reel One Entertainment, which earned her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Direction.
A lover of bold, old-school comedy, Sam has been honing her comedic sweet spot: smart, edgy, and grounded comedy. She’s also a fan of psychological thriller and horror—not gory—and her original voice is rooted in sharp timing, authentic characters, and emotional honesty. Sam believes in drama first—if you strip away the laughs or the scares, what is the heart of the story? And do we still care?
Her writing accomplishments include writing the story for The Nut Job 3, the third instalment of the global animated franchise starring Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph. Sam’s standout comedy work includes the CBC Juno Awards commercial campaign starring Simu Liu, which she co-wrote and directed. The spots earned two PROMAX Award nominations: Best Director and Best in Live Events.
Sam’s more dramatic work includes The Horrible History of Harriet Jones, a psychological thriller and horror short film based on true crime events in Guyana, which she wrote and directed. The short film was acquired by Terror Films for an anthology series and screened in Hollywood as part of HollyShorts’ monthly series. Sam is currently developing it into a feature film, with story consulting by Jeff Howard (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Oculus).
Her work has received numerous spotlights, and she is an alumna of programs such as Women in the Director’s Chair: Story & Leadership, the Toronto International Film Festival’s Big Pitch event, and Warner Bros. Access X Academy Director’s Program.