Sam Chegini
Born in an artistic family in Tehran/Iran in 1992, Sam developed a strong passion for Fine Arts from an early age. Hardships of pursuing art and music in Iran and his quest for the up-to-date knowledge led him to reach out to the world beyond the borders of his country, communicating with artists from other nationalities and taking part in several international contests. In 2006, he decided to found his own home studio under the label of Sam Pictures Productions and started working as a freelance artist. In 2009, he connected to the Dutch singer/songwriter Linde Nijland through the internet which led to the making of his first official animated music video for one of Linde’s songs “Traveller”. Traveller has been screened in various international film festivals around the globe and succeeded to win prestigious awards including the Royal Reel Awards from Canada International Film Festival in 2013. In early 2014, Sam collaborated as a puppeteer with “The City of Mice 2” project, the sequel to a very nostalgic puppetry feature film directed by Iranian director, Marziyeh Boroumand. In 2015 Sam was a member of the “Online Pre-screening Committee” at the “Sprockets International Music Video Festival” (Georgia, Athens, USA).
In 2016 Sam made the video “The Cops Don’t Know” for renowned British actor/singer and BAFTA Life time achievement winner, Sir Lenny Henry, produced by the legendary British producer, Chris Porter. The video has been present in various international film festivals and has won awards including the FERA-LUCERO Award from UNAOC Plural+ Youth Video Festival in 2016. Sir Lenny Henry praised Chegini in an interview with Classic Rock Magazine saying: “The video has a labour of love style. Sam Chegini is clearly gifted.”
In 2016-2017 Sam joined the play “MANUS” as Video Artist, Mapping Artist, and International Affairs for their international performances in Bangladesh (Chittagong and Dhaka), India (Kerala International Theatre Festival) and Fajr International Theatre festival (Tehran).
In 2017, Sam held the 9th Wordless International Short Film Festival as Artistic Director. Same time screening in Qazvin, Iran with Sydney, Australia with 20 shorts from 19 countries.
In 2019 Sam directed a video for the renowned Iranian singer, Alireza Ghorbani for his song “Go Absent”.
In 2020, he made two videos for King Crimson’s frontman, renowned musician and singer, Jakko M Jakszyk to promote his solo album “Secrets and Lies” released by InsideOut Music. A frame of the video “The Trouble with Angels” was later used as the original artwork of the album. The other video produced for the album is “Uncertain Times” starring the renowned British actor/comedian Al Murray.
In 2021 Sam made the official music video for “Aqualung” by “Jethro Tull” following a recommendation by Jakko M Jakszyk to the band’s frontman, Ian Anderson MBE. The video was premiered on ‘Rolling Stone’ on April 1st, 2021 on the occasion of Aqlualung’s 50th Anniversary. Anderson praised Chegini in his statement to Rolling Stone saying: “He delivered a unique rendition of the ‘Aqualung’ song with abstract and documentary-type footage. A talented young man with a bright future in the music arts.”
In May 2021, the legendary prog band Gentle Giant announced the release of a new edition of one of their most celebrated albums “Free Hand” remixed by Steven Wilson with a video of the title track directed and animated by Sam. The visual album was released on June 25th, 2021.
On October 15, 2021, same time with his birthday, Chris de Burgh released the single “Legacy” from his 27th Studio album, “The Legend of Robin Hood” accompanying a music video directed by Sam Chegini.
In November 2021, Sam collaborated with Jethro Tull for the second time, directing a new music video for the band’s latest album of new materials in over 18 years. “Sad City Sisters” was released via InsideOut Music on December 8, 2021. As his third collaboration with the legendary band, he directed the music video for the title track “The Zealot Gene” which was premiered on January 12, 2022.
In Feburary 2022, Sam won the Image of the Year for Best Music Video for Chris de Burgh’s “Legacy”. Chris de Burgh appeared in a video at the closing ceremony of the Tassvir Film Festival and described working with Sam “An absolute pleasure” saying “He is highly professional, he knew exactly what he wanted. He is going to be a huge talent in the future and he is already making waves in the UK making videos for other people.”
On April 21st, on the occasion of World Creativity and Innovation Day, The World Urban Pavilion in Regent Park, an Urban Economy Forum and UN-Habitat project was opened with the video “Legacy”. The ceremony was opened with Chris de Burgh’s video message in which he described the video as “Fantastic”.
Sam is also an alumni of the Intercultural Leaders at United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.