For 25 years, half-brothers Reed and Sam have joyously filmed Sam's life, using the camera and the footage as a way to explore life and to understand the painful disappearance of Sam's mom when he was fourteen years old.
What happens when a boy and his brother go on a road trip in search of their missing mom? Filmed over an expanse of 25 years, two brothers go on a 2,000-mile road trip to solve a family mystery. Shooting on nearly every camera format imaginable, from hand-developed Super-8 film to Arri 4K, Sam Harkness and his older half-brother Reed use their creative world of fiction filmmaking to dive headfirst into dealing with the issue at hand: Sam’s mom is missing.Sam’s wetsuit and mask wearing alter ego, The Blue Panther, bounds into frame with youthful energy and a heroic spirit of adventure. But can The Blue Panther save the day? And are these fun-loving brothers actually ready for what lies ahead? Cracking the case of Sam's mom's disappearance is only the beginning of their story. As Sam grows up, the optimistic boy with his heart set on finding his mom becomes a man whose new hope is to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma.
Reed Harkness
Reed Harkness attended film school in his backyard and garage, and at age 18, began making a series of short films starring his younger brother Sam. This was the beginning of a project two decades in the making. Sam Now (Mountainfilm 2022) is a coming-of-age film that follows his brother from age 11 to 34. The film was selected and funded by ITVS Open Call. Harkness also directed the award-winning, 30-minute documentary Forest on Fire and the documentary series "House on Fire". He was the director and cinematographer for Google’s Webby award-winning Made w/ Code and has made commercials for Travel Oregon, Coke, 4-H and Nike.
For 25 years, half-brothers Reed and Sam have joyously filmed Sam's life, using the camera and the footage as a way to explore life and to understand the painful disappearance of Sam's mom when he was fourteen years old.
What happens when a boy and his brother go on a road trip in search of their missing mom? Filmed over an expanse of 25 years, two brothers go on a 2,000-mile road trip to solve a family mystery. Shooting on nearly every camera format imaginable, from hand-developed Super-8 film to Arri 4K, Sam Harkness and his older half-brother Reed use their creative world of fiction filmmaking to dive headfirst into dealing with the issue at hand: Sam’s mom is missing.Sam’s wetsuit and mask wearing alter ego, The Blue Panther, bounds into frame with youthful energy and a heroic spirit of adventure. But can The Blue Panther save the day? And are these fun-loving brothers actually ready for what lies ahead? Cracking the case of Sam's mom's disappearance is only the beginning of their story. As Sam grows up, the optimistic boy with his heart set on finding his mom becomes a man whose new hope is to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma.
Reed Harkness
Reed Harkness attended film school in his backyard and garage, and at age 18, began making a series of short films starring his younger brother Sam. This was the beginning of a project two decades in the making. Sam Now (Mountainfilm 2022) is a coming-of-age film that follows his brother from age 11 to 34. The film was selected and funded by ITVS Open Call. Harkness also directed the award-winning, 30-minute documentary Forest on Fire and the documentary series "House on Fire". He was the director and cinematographer for Google’s Webby award-winning Made w/ Code and has made commercials for Travel Oregon, Coke, 4-H and Nike.