CINEASTHESIA

Michelle “ELLE” Sam

Storyteller · Filmmaker · Game Designer · Medicinal Healer · Multimedia Artist

Elle is a world-travelling storyteller, working across multiple mediums and just as many cities — San Francisco, Berlin, Amsterdam, Oaxaca, Accra, and more. An award-winning filmmaker, multimedia artist, and medicinal healer of Ghanaian descent within the Fante, Akwapim, and Bwiti traditions, she holds a B.A. from Rice University in Visual and Dramatic Arts, Sociology, and Neuroscience.

Her film and television credits include writing for Jason Katims’ As We See It (Amazon), based on the Israeli series On The Spectrum about neurodiversity, and Hardly Working (Paramount+). She wrote Black Boy Joy, which received a NAACP Image Award, and her short film Missed Connections (KweliTV, CFMDC) won the audience award at TranScreen Amsterdam and was developed in collaboration with the GLAAD Transgender Media Equality Program. She penned a limited series about refugees with Made Up Stories and Endeavor Content, and developed Sankofa in the Outfest screenwriting lab.

Beyond screen work, Elle cultivates immersive and interactive experiences and art installations that engage the nine senses, creating work across the Black diaspora and in continental Africa under her name, ELLE. She works with various indigenous healing modalities, carrying a deep connection to land and lineage — from neuroaesthetic installations that lower cortisol and activate joy, to ceremonial storytelling rooted in West African tradition.

She is co-founder of Out The Box Creative, a Ghanaian production company and artist collective based in Accra. A speaker at TEDxAccra’s Chale Talks, she has feature and series projects in development with several major studios and production companies. Her practice bridges West African indigenous healing traditions, neuroaesthetics, game design, and multimedia narrative — the convergence at the heart of The Last Draw / Home.