Signature Dish: Sam Kristofski

‘Signature Dish’ is our longform interview series where we go “all in” on someone’s journey: exploring the past, present, and creative pulse of people today. 

Interview with and images courtesy of Sam Kristofski. Written by Heather Hawke. 

Sam Kristofski never really outgrew the childlike spirit of making things “because it’s fun” – and thank goodness for that. Raised just outside of Nelson on New Zealand’s South Island, the director/photographer/writer was drawing cartoons, building worlds out of LEGO, and filming just for the fun of it as a kid. Decades later, not much has changed. “I still work the same way I did back then,” he admits, “just with older equipment and new ideas.” His process? “No process.” His philosophy? Stay messy. His filmmaking style? “Basically jazz, but worse.”

It’s an approach that’s carried him through more than 130 music videos (often for friends’ bands), countless photography projects, and now, a neo-noir feature film steeped in the smoky atmosphere of ‘90s L.A. crime flicks. For Sam, the thrill isn’t in the plan – it’s in the improvisation, in chasing the little flashes of inspiration that arrive like uninvited guests. “Some ideas never leave,” he says. “They just sit in your brain until you finally give them a home.”

What makes his work tick isn’t polish or perfection, but a kind of cinematic playfulness: films that move like music, music videos that feel like playgrounds, and projects that, in his words, always circle back to that simple truth -“If you’re not playing, you’re not creating.”

Play, jazz, connection, chaos – these are the ingredients in Sam Kristofski’s ‘Signature Dish’.

Intro / Warm-Up

1.     It’s been a wild few years globally. Before we dive in—how are you doing these days? How have you been navigating everything, creatively and personally?

A: I’ve been good! Nothing’s really changed too much for me. I still work the same way I did when I was a kid, just with older equipment and new ideas. Every year I pick up new tricks, new tools, but somehow I always circle back to the same process: ‘No Process’. Personally, same thing. I’ve been through life up until now, but I always end up back at twelve years old, making stuff because it’s fun.

2.     The music industry landscape keeps evolving—post-COVID challenges, the fast pace of trends, and how quickly projects can come and go. From where you sit, how has that shift felt? Has it influenced how you approach your work?

A: Not really. I mostly make music videos for friends’ bands, so it’s always been more play than business. I put most of my focus into my long-form projects, so I don’t really keep up with the music industry. I never plan, never shot-list, never write treatments. We just start shooting and see what happens. It’s unscientific, but most of the time it works.

Origin Story

3.     Let’s go back to the beginning—where did you grow up, and what role did music or creativity play in your early life?

A: I grew up in New Zealand, just outside Nelson on the South Island, and spent some time in Karamea on the West Coast. As a kid, I wanted to be a cartoonist, drew constantly, and watched loads of movies. Music strangely wasn’t really part of my life as a kid. I was more interested in other things. I guess that’s why I can’t play an instrument.  

4.     What music or art first made you feel inspired? Do you remember the first concert, album, film, or moment that really stuck with you?

A: Ok, this will be a big answer… The first album I ever bought was the first Gorillaz album. We were on a family trip in Croatia, and I picked up a pirated CD at a night market. We listened to that album the entire trip, and it’s very burned into my memory. But the first album I really got obsessed with was probably two years before that, Moby’s Play. Those two albums really shaped my taste for music early in my life.

When I think about music that I really had to dig for, though, it was from a skateboard film called Birdhouse: The End from 1998. The soundtrack in that film had a major effect on me, actually, funnily enough, it actually had some Moby tracks in it too lol.

That said, films have always moved me the most, but I think it’s really the music inside the films that does the heavy lifting. To me, music is the blood of art, but movies are like the final boss… and the final boss can’t live without the blood of music haha, if that makes sense. Sounds so dumb but just gonna leave that there.

There are so many movies I could list, an early notable one would be Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, but if I had to choose one, it would be The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Howard Shore’s score. That music makes me feel every emotion. And on top of that, because the films were shot in New Zealand, they made me believe I could actually chase filmmaking as a career, even though I was from a small town outside of Nelson, NZ.

5.     When you started seeking out creative influences on your own, where did you look? Record shops, blogs, local scenes, or something else?

A: Honestly, mostly from observing real life. I’d watch people, little interactions, the way things played out around me, then mix that with movies and LEGO.

6.     What was your path into the creative side of the music world? Did you have formal training, or did you figure it out as you went?

A: I went to film school, but the main thing I learned there is that you don’t really need to go to film school. I made my first music video to impress a girl who loved the band. It didn’t work, but unfortunately the video did, and now I’ve made 130 + music videos. Back then, I thought music videos were the yellow brick road into movies. I had a DVD box set of Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Jonathan Glazer’s work, anyone remember the Director’s Label DVD’s? I assumed short form quantity was the way in. But by the time I got there, the boat had already left. Now I just see music videos as a box of lego to mess around in, low stakes, no rules. It’s play.

7.     Did you have any day jobs along the way that shaped your perspective or influenced how you work? Do you look back on any fondly?

A: I only ever took filming jobs after film school. I shot a lot of sports, and reality TV. It helped me be a little more disciplined and meet deadlines. Before film school I worked at a chainsaw shop, sharpening chainsaws and had a weekend job riding my 1986 XR500R down rows of boysenberries to scare away the starlings. I look very fondy back on all those times. 

Current Role / Creative Approach

8.     Was your current role or project something you planned for, or did it evolve organically over time?

A: I always knew I wanted to make movies but had no idea what the job titles actually meant. When I found out cinematographers shoot the film and directors don’t, it personally hurt me. Same with writers, I just assumed the director did everything. 

9.     Let’s talk about what you’re working on now. What sparked this project, and what has the process looked like so far?

A: I’m working on a neo-noir feature right now, inspired by the LA ‘90s crime movies I grew up watching. It’s pure jazz film-making. Basically, it’s structured in the same way the cantina band in star wars plays their gigs.

10.  Was there a particular moment or period when everything started to click—or when a lot of the ideas or emotions behind the project came together?

A: There wasn’t one single moment. Sometimes things just click out of nowhere. The more you force it the less it happens so I just try to enjoy life and trust things will probably make sense in the end. I have no expectations.

11.  Have any parts of your projects—concepts, visuals, sounds, strategies—been in your mind for a long time? If so, how has your relationship with those ideas changed?

A: Definitely. Some ideas never leave, they just sit in your brain like a small homeless man. I have things I wrote when I was 10 that I still want to make. Shots, scenes, lines… they follow you around. I don’t think I “own” them, though. They just show up, and I’m babysitting them until I get them out. Sometimes I’ll see someone else use a similar idea, and it’s actually a relief, I can finally give that little homeless man a home to move to. 

12.  Has your creative or professional process shifted over the years? Do you find it more intentional or more instinctive now?

A: I wouldn’t say so. I keep reminding myself to stay closer to the kid version of me. It’s easy to become formulaic, to turn into an algorithm bot without realizing it. I’d rather stay messy. I tell myself a lot to not work within ‘reason’. 

13.  When you’re developing a new project or campaign, do you prefer working in quick bursts or slowly refining over time? What helps you get into the right mindset?

A: I like both. Sometimes I want to sit with an idea for months; sometimes I want to shoot it before I have an idea and figure it out later. My process is basically jazz, but worse. 

Place & Space

14.  Does travel or place influence your work? Do your surroundings shape your ideas, or is your process more internal?

A: Not really. My process is internal. I could be on a beach, in a basement, or on a plane and i’d still be talking to myself about the same things.

15.  Where have you been creating or working lately? What’s the atmosphere like—does the space itself impact your mindset or output?

A: I’ve been based in LA for this film, but I’ve shot through Europe, NZ, Australia too this year. I don’t think the location changes much for me.

16.  Were there any limitations—technical, logistical, or emotional—that ended up shaping the project in unexpected ways?

A: Always. Limitations are my currency. The less I have, the better I get. 

17.  If your project has a title, when did that come into focus? What does it represent to you?

A: Titles just arrive one day. I don’t chase them. They show up, fully formed, like they’ve been sitting somewhere waiting for me to notice. I don’t over think them, that’s the ‘reason’ trying to get me to over-think. I just pick it and it is what it is. 

18.  What part of the process—planning, creating, releasing, collaborating—brings you the most satisfaction?

A: Probably releasing. Being on set is the most fun, but when you put something into the world and someone connects with it, that’s the part that keeps me doing this. Everything else is just to get to that moment.

Visuals & Presentation

19.  How involved are you in shaping the visual side for the artists you work with—artwork, videos, photos, branding? Do you see visuals as an extension of the core project?

A: It changes project to project. Sometimes I’m super involved, other times I just let it happen naturally. 

20.  With social media everywhere, do you feel pressure to “present” yourself or your work in a particular way—or does it give you more creative freedom?

A: I go through waves. Pride gets in the way a lot, sometimes I’d rather people just stumble across my work on their own. But the truth is, if I disappear like that, no one sees it, and then the jobs stop coming in. And when the work stops, you don’t even work on your own stuff… and that’s when you start sliding into what I call “dark artist” territory. So yeah, pride is a killer. It’s a slippery slope. Social media is always a good reminder for me to push through that and actually put the work out there, even when it’s not easy.

Workflow & Lifestyle

21.  What’s your workspace like? Any rituals, memorable moments, or odd habits you’d be willing to share?

A: First thing I do when I wake up is make an Earl Grey. Then I head out the door and just walk, sometimes for hours, until the genie decides to show up. If it doesn’t, I’ll keep walking all day and take that as the day’s work. When it does show up, I’ll get more done in three hours than I would in a whole week of sitting at my desk. I really operate in bursts of creativity.

22.  How do you prepare mentally for big moments—like launches, premieres, or live events—and how do you wind down afterward?

A: I go for a walk.

23.  When you’re traveling or in a busy season, do you have any strategies for staying healthy, grounded, or balanced?

A: Walk.

Community & Scene

24.  What’s the creative scene like in your hometown or where you’re based now? What do you love about it, and what do you hope to see evolve?

A: There are a few crews doing cool things, but I’d love to see it grow into more of a creative center, it really makes the most sense. Wellington became the main hub for movies in NZ, mostly thanks to Peter Jackson, but Nelson, where I’m from, has even more going for it. It gets the best weather in the country, it’s surrounded by three national parks, and it’s right in the middle of NZ. All it would take is one good film to be made there to shift attention and crews over, and I’ve always wanted to be the one to make that happen.

Final Question

25.  What’s something you’ve learned—about your work, yourself, or the world—that’s shaping what you want to create or contribute next?

A: If you are not playing, you are not creating.