File:Sam i - Don’t Give Up Feat Sia, Busta Rhymes & VIC MENSA (Official Music Video)

Song: Sam i - Don’t Give Up Feat Sia, Busta Rhymes & VIC MENSA https://open.spotify.com/track/4mJ3I1...

I met Nevaeh Meraz, her story was so powerful and moving. She has fought through so much hardship and adversity, but her passion for her art has been her saving grace. It’s carried her through it all. I identified with that, having suffered through depression of my own, and have found creativity to be my beacon of light in my darkest moments.

I’m hoping that the film can give people struggling with mental health and particularly suicidal ideation some form of hope. I lost a good friend to suicide a year ago. The loss made me feel more connected to Nevaeh when she told me her story. My hope is that her story can affect others the way it has affected me.

Along the way to shooting it, I picked up so many amazing collaborators like Catherine Keener, Alexis Zabe (our cinematographer), and so many others who all helped so much and in so many ways to make our project shine. It was extremely difficult to shoot the film during this global pandemic, but a couple of weeks ago, we were finally able to shoot, and have been working tirelessly to get it out into the world as soon as we could… I hope you like it.

Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services is teaming with Sam around the release of the film to help fundraise for mental health awareness; fans can donate to Didi Hirsch MHS at https://fanlink.to/SamxDidi or by texting “DIDI” to 41-444.

Written and Directed by Sam i Choreography: Nevaeh Meraz and Sam i