Private Project

The Cost of Living

Faced with a grim diagnosis, a bartender from Harlem and a Chicago school teacher turn to the brave new world of crowdfunding as they fight for their lives and struggle to keep their heads above water.

  • Saman Malik
    Director
  • Saman Malik
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 7, 2014
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Pakistan
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Patsy Pulitzer Preston Award - Columbia Journalism School
    New York, New York
    Best Documentary
  • The Gracies Award - Outstanding Documentary
    New York
Director Biography - Saman Malik

Saman Malik is a documentary filmmaker, producer and storyteller living in New York City.

Saman got her first taste of production as an intern at Indus Music in Karachi, Pakistan and officially launched her career, a year later, as a line producer at Hum Television Network. She quickly learned the ropes and in just a few years, Saman became the youngest ever programs manager and senior director/producer at the network. She supervised programming for two of the four network channels while producing and directing multiple live and recorded shows. Saman has also taught broadcast journalism as an adjunct professor at SZABIST University in Karachi. And as a freelance journalist, she has worked for Toronto Star, Voice of America, Village Voice and The New York Times.

Saman holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a B.F.A. from Concordia University. Her first film ‘The Cost Of Living’ was awarded the Patsy Pulitzer Preston Prize for documentary journalism.

Add Director Biography