Sam Ellison is a camera operator, director and cinematographer based in New York City. He has twice been nominated for the SOC’s Camera Operator of the Year Award, for his work on Severance (2022) and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019).

His debut feature documentary, Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life), premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2019, winning Best Cinematography at the Atlanta Film Festival 2020 and Best Documentary Director at RiverRun 2020. Chèche Lavi has played at more than 40 festivals around the world.

Sam’s other camera credits include The Nickel Boys (2023), The Good Nurse (2022), Dead Ringers (2023), I Know This Much is True (2020), and Academy Award winner Manchester By The Sea (2016).

He received his BA from Harvard in 2008 and his MFA from Stanford in 2017.

photo by Atsushi “Jima” Nishijima