PEEPING MAUREEN

PEEPING MAUREEN is a 3-time Best Screenplay-winning feature script set in Edinburgh, Scotland, based on the true story of my friend’s 83-year-old mother who's been turning their lives upside-down stalking a 33-year-old opera singer like a crazed fangirl. One night, she even Facetimed them from his driveway.

When I heard that, I knew I had to write and direct this story. As a musician and a confessed former superfan, (Duran Duran my poison), who had a complicated relationship with my own mother, I feel a kinship with all of these characters and yearn to share them with the world. I also love Edinburgh (have a second home there now) and my relationship with this epic, breathtaking, creative, and cutting-edge city began when I went there on a summer teen trip at age 14. Scots have a humor and language all their own (even though it IS English...) and I think people will love to get to know them through this film.

I’ve been a singer-songwriter for decades, but I never cared for opera. Thankfully, I got some help from good friend Arianna Zukerman (daughter of Pinchus) who runs the opera programming at esteemed venue Wolf Trap. Among the many genres, eras, and singers she sent me, one stood out by a mile: soaring South African tenor Lunga Eric Hallam. His voice was my gateway drug, and quickly became the inspiration for the character of Peter Williams. And then Lunga himself came in to sing an aria just for the short adaptation/proof-of-concept for this film MY MOTHER THE STALKER (find here on FilmFreeway), which makes it all the more special. (You’ll hear his agile voice coming from the car radio as the grandmother sits outside the singer’s house.) My hope is that, just as the film SIDEWAYS sparked our interest in wine by being grounded, accessible, and compelling, PEEPING MAUREEN can be a delightful entrance point to the world of opera. The crazy, crazy world of opera.

PEEPING MAUREEN is also a story about aging – not just old age, but middle age and adolescence. Getting older is a mean trick time plays, but at every stage, it's up to us whether we fight it, embrace it, hate it, or conquer it. I’m thrilled at what's happening in entertainment right now; with actresses of middle age and beyond carrying record-breaking films such as DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, winning awards with EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, "The Crown," "Grace and Frankie" and so many others. The characters in MY MOTHER THE STALKER – mom, son, and grandmother – are each facing age differently, and have a lot to teach one other.

I, myself, am a woman whose pivot into filmmaking was not a huge surprise, as my dad was screenwriter David Shaber (THE WARRIORS, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER), but more notable as it’s happening in my 50s after years as a singer-songwriter with 12 albums and over 200,000 miles under my belt, plus performing as a live storyteller with The Moth, UCB, and an award-winning solo show Sam Shaber: Life, Death & Duran Duran at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In addition, I’m the creator/host of punk-rock fertility podcast IVFU about the pain, joy, angst, and love of trying to make a family “the new-fashioned way.” All of these experiences intersect in my passion for filmmaking.

I’m also a hopeless optimist; driven to bring some of that optimism and joy into this dark moment. My goal with PEEPING MAUREEN is to remind us all what it feels like to be defiant, passionate, and just…adorable. There’s been a serious lack of adorableness lately – let's bring it back.

Thanks so much for your consideration,
Samantha (Sam) Shaber
West Hollywood, CA
May, 2026