Sam Koji Hale is a filmmaker, designer and puppetry artist. Sam directed his first short film “Yamasong”, produced by Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams series. “Yamasong” screened in over 30 film festivals, embraced worldwide at sci-fi/fantasy genre festivals like Fantastic Planet, Fantastic Fest and Dragon-Con Independent Film Festival, where it received Best Animated Fantasy and Best Animated Film in 2010. Other recognitions include the 2014 UNIMA Citation of Excellence in Puppetry, the highest award given in the field of puppetry arts. In 2014, Sam partnered with Dark Dunes Productions to create the feature film “Yamasong: March of Hollows,” the first all-puppet feature since “Team America” and “String” in 2004. Yamasong features original music from On Ensemble and a stellar voice cast including Nathan Fillion, Abigail Breslin, Freida Pinto, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Weller, George Takei, Ed Asner and Bruce Davison. Sam also continues to produce puppet films for Handmade Puppet Dreams, working with their distribution partners at Jim Henson Company to bring original puppet films to audiences worldwide
