Meet Josef Samuel, Vienna’s Last Signpainter

Short biopic about Josef Samuel, fourth-generation Viennese sign painter, and his sign painting museum.

Gold lettering on a black background.
Carved and gilded sign from the former sign shop of fourth-generation sign painter Josef Samuel.

Josef Samuel is a 4th generation signpainter from Vienna, Austria, and founder of the city’s incredible Schildermalermuseum. Following a visit to the museum in 2016 the idea of making a film about this remarkable man began to take shape.

The short film eventually premiered at the London Letterheads meet in August 2018, and has subsequently been screened at locations around the world. On Monday it was released online.

When Better Letters Met Josef Samuel: Vienna's Last Signpainter

Credits for the film are given below and we would like to thank Colossal Media and Right Way Signs of Chicago for their support of this project.

  • Producer: Sam Roberts
  • Director: Tom Koch
  • Cinematography, Editing: Philipp Hezoucky / OHIL Film
  • Location Sound Mixer: Christoph Pichler / rotbart
  • Sound Design: Paul Matyas / Slivomat
  • Narrator: Stuart Freeman
See all the 'When Better Letters Met' series of short films.
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