Samuel Gordon Explores his European Roots in 'Bluno'

LOS ANGELES – Growing up in Norway and Ireland, Samuel Gordon learned early on of his passion for film and storytelling. As a writer, director and producer of nearly a dozen films, Gordon is returning to his roots with the upcoming feature film “Bluno,” now in pre-production.

Inspired by actual events, “Bluno” is a dark comedy about a lonely blue-collar construction worker who dreams to be like his father, a hero who goes on great adventures to stand up for the little guy. But when he tells his story to the wrong man, he accidentally finds himself locked into a hit contract.

The film, which he co-wrote with Brandon Gale, will take viewers to Northern Ireland and Germany, with a first gen. Irishman holding on to his heritage. “Bluno,” gives Gordon the opportunity to get back to his Irish roots for the first time as a film producer.

“When I was a kid, my father would tell me stories about growing up in Northern Ireland, which was during the time when the IRA was very active,” Gordon recalled. “He would hear bombs going off in the distance every day and they would check underneath their car every time they would go for a ride in case someone had stuck a pipe bomb underneath it. Now I was a very lonely child with no such surrounding, and so I would retell his stories as mine to get attention and years later it became a great script.”

Known for his compelling dramas and unique characters in such films as “Count.” “Myra,” “Skipping,” and others, Gordon credits his travels and varied background growing up for his passion for filmmaking. With an Irish father and a Norwegian mother, Gordon spent his youth traveling between countries before his parents divorced.

“My father is an Irish folk musician, so in order to try to find wholeness again I pursued music like him, I played the piano; it was like I subconsciously tried to patch the rift in our family through music, but it wasn’t really for me” he recalled. “Instead I watched films obsessively. I never had that one film inspire me into filmmaking, it was more like the collective of all the different stories and perspectives and lives I’d never known before that drew me towards them. I realized I had to make a change.”

Inspired by such filmmakers as Michael Haneke, Martin McDonagh, Francis Ford Coppola and others, Gordon would eventually attend the American Film Institute and where he explored his passion for storytelling and creating unique visuals.

“I am in a firm believer that we are all here fighting for the same thing, just a tiny piece of happiness every day,” he said. “In my films I pursue to explore the absurdity of the human condition, about outcasts and people that are not usually talked about, and how they find their happiness, or lose it.

After working on a number of films, Gordon cut his teeth as a director on such movies as the psychological drama “The Spectator,” the film thriller “Sredni Vashtar,” and others before taking on “Bluno,” and its uniquely personal storyline.

“Sam has a great feel for these characters and their unique backstories,” said Brandon Gale, who is producing the film. “They reflect a lot of what it takes to be human and fallible while trying to live in the harshness of today’s modern world.”

As for the future, Gordon is planning for additional films as well as the upcoming fantasy/adventure television pilot “Undiscovered,” which he wrote with writer Josh Schultz and plans to produce.

To learn more, visit www.SamuelAsklandGordon.com.