Interview with Sam Geller
by Becky Tan

Sam Geller is film editor of WOM Magazine which is available free at local music clubs, cinemas, and Theaterkassen.. Six to eight free-lance journalists work under him and together they publish more than 30 film and DVD reviews each month.

He took over the position in 2000, a job which seemed to be made for him. “As a child, my American father often took me to the Sunday morning English-language films at Streit’s cinema. This was the only opportunity to see films in English in Hamburg. I really enjoyed those Sundays, seeing those early Mel Brooks and Woody Allen movies. His second love, music, is also inherited, as his father is a well-known jazz musician here and his German grandfather was a musician.

WOM stands for World of Music. The magazine features reviews of films, DVDs, CDs and musicians. Before joining the magazine staff, Sam worked in the World of Music store 1996-99. This was located in the basement of the Alsterhaus at Jungfernstieg, but has since moved to Karstadt at Mönckebergstr. Their selection of music and DVDs are also available online under www.WOM.de.

Sam has attended the Filmfest Hamburg since 1996 (when Fargo was on the agenda). This year he enjoyed Take, The Savages and the restored Nosferatu, as well as Michael Clayton, Persepolis, and Eastern Promises. He said, “Compared to past festivals in Hamburg, this one had an especially good selection of films; I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality this year.” There was one glitch when he tried to pick up his accreditation the first evening. The film counter was already closed and he was forced to leave without seeing even one film.

A man of many talents, Sam also writes for Blond Magazine, is a certified pastry cook, and is bilingual in German and English. He also recommends the annual Fantasy Film Festival.