Samuel Coletta-Bates is a New York based cinematographer driven by one primary characteristic: Curiosity. Samuel's path, aspirations, and creative ideals (on and off set) are all driven by a desire to understand, to learn, and to meaningfully contribute to and enable new perspectives on the world around us. As a queer filmmaker, Samuel has made a dedicated effort to tell queer stories, and collaborate with other members of the queer film community.

Samuel grew up in Cincinnati Ohio, and earned his BFA in Film from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College of Fine Arts.

When not on set, Samuel can usually still be found behind a camera working on his photography, and when he's not doing that he's usually losing at chess or Overwatch instead.