Sam Wells was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 experimental film

Experimental film

Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...

maker and photographer

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 based in Princeton

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. He is best known for the film Wired Angel (1999), an avant-garde feature inspired by the life and trial of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

. Filmed on high-contrast black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 reversal film and featuring a musical score written by Academy Award-winning composer Joe Renzetti

Joe Renzetti

-Early life and education:Joseph Renzetti - Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaJoe Renzetti studied composing and orchestrating under Nicholas Flagello, NYC, Manhattan School of Music...

, Wired Angel was well-received at underground film

Underground film

An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...

 festivals in both Chicago and New York, with Film Threat

Film Threat

Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...

 magazine naming it one of the best unseen films of 2001.

Wells' 1990 short film The Talking Rain played at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. He exhibited sections of his Vietnam-inspired film and digital media installation Fragrance of Ghosts at William Paterson University

William Paterson University

William Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....

 in 2007.

Wells was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

 in 2003. In 2006, he was the recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts

New Jersey State Council on the Arts

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts was founded in 1966 to support artistic activities in the state of New Jersey. It is funded by the New Jersey State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts ....

.

Filmography

• Early Shorts (1974–1979)
  • Endymion
  • Woman of Light
  • Angels of Winter
  • Miari Miare Remir
  • Self Portrait
  • Crucifixion/Lux in diafana
  • Landscape
  • Realm

• The Talking Rain (1990)

• Wired Angel (1999)

• Lucent Membranes (2008–2011)

Installations

• Fragrance of Ghosts/Huong (2004–2011)
  • Kieu
  • Vinh Long Garden
  • The Willow Sees The Heron's Image Upside-Down

External links

• Sam Wells Official Website
• Wired Angel at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• Review of Wired Angel at Film Threat (Phil Hall)
• The Talking Rain | Archives | Sundance Institute