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When I met Princess Shaw before our interview, it was like reuniting with a long lost friend– only we’ve never met before and what I do know of her, I’ve learned through the documentary “Presenting Princess Shaw.” “Hello darling,” she says enthusiastically as she pulls me in for a giant hug. Not only is she the sweetest interviewee of recent memory, she is genuinely excited and humbled to be talking about the film, a story all aspiring artists can look up to. I also had the opportunity to chat with Kutiman, the musical genius who discovered her, and we talk about growing up with music in their veins, the secret to making a good song, and her reaction to seeing her face on the poster for the first time. We begin:

After I saw the film, I kept humming the songs from the film out loud, it really stuck with me.
Princess Shaw: Haha! 

To you, what makes a good song?
PS: I think the lyrics, if you’re really saying something, and if you have a really catchy hook– but you already know that! Most of the songs that stick with me stick with other people, and that’s how I know it’s a good song. But if you have deep lyrics and emotion in your voice, that makes a great song.

Kutiman: I just feel something, whatever excites me, I don’t know how to explain it. Sometimes it’s the melody, sometimes it’s the groove, sometimes it’s the lyrics.

What was life like growing up, were you always musically inclined?
K: I fell in love when I was six-years-old and I would hear my neighbor playing the piano. I grew up in a small village in the North of Isreal and I didn’t know anything about music.

PS: My sister and I would write plays and sing in the choir. I would do dances and write songs, but I wasn’t confident. It was a way for me to escape out of my jacked up childhood, to go somewhere else and someplace else. I had this great imagination that I would be in front of people and they’d just watch me dance and sing. It took me awhile to get that confidence, though, but I’m here now!

“It was a way for me to escape out of my jacked up childhood, to go somewhere else and someplace else.”

When you saw Samantha on YouTube, did you know right away that she was someone special?
K: Yes! I had the instrumental track already and I was searching for vocals for it, and she was perfect for it. It was magical to find her… We’re having a great time together [throughout this process], and I’m so thankful for that because it could have been anyone. I love spending time with her.

How did you get attached to this film?
PS: His [director Ido Haas] wife contacted me on Facebook and said he was doing a documentary on YouTubers and if I’d like to be involved. When I was first asked, I was a little weary. When I met him, there was instantly a calm about him and a sweetness, a realness and openness about him that I felt like I could be open and bear my soul. I was honored that he came all the way from Isreal to New Orleans, I was crying because, at that point, I felt like I was nobody. For someone to think I was that much of a “somebody” was an honor. So I said if I’m going to do this, I’m gonna do it all the way. From that point, we went to an open mic night [in New Orleans] and he kept following me around. Dope sauce.

Kutiman, how does it make you feel knowing that you impacted her life so much?
K: Wow, yeah it’s really amazing. When I’m working on these projects I think about these [musicians] because I see them for hours and hours. Sometimes I just see a small part of their room and I think about who they are and what they do. To eventually meet one of them and see what it has done to her life is priceless.

“For someone to think I was that much of a ‘somebody’ was an honor.”

How did you get into making these videos in the first place?
K: I was unemployed and spent a lot of time on YouTube, I saw a lot of videos and piano, guitar, and drum tutorials to improve my own playing. I had a lot of the videos open in different tabs and I thought, ‘hmm I this could work.’

What was it like seeing your face on the poster for the first time?
PS: I had no idea the documentary had taken another turn [just following me] and so when I went to Isreal, I walked into Ido’s house. I turned around and saw the poster and said, “What the ‘bleep’?!” It was just my face. I was like are you serious? Ido held that [secret] in for a long time, I knew that was killing him, haha. I just couldn’t believe it, it was my face up there. My name’s in there.

Are you going to take a poster and hang it in your house?
PS: When I went to the Baton Rouge Film Festival in Lousiana, they had this huge banner hanging over the balcony of my face. They sent that to me. I can’t put it anywhere, it’s so big!

I heard there is a full-length album in the works!
K: When Samantha was in Isreal, I knew that I wanted to do more music with her, and not the YouTube way. We recorded a lot of songs in a studio and now I’m working on the music.

“I feel like there is so much fakeness out there and I think this film is about hope and being real.”

What was the film festival experience like?
K: It was amazing! I play in bands and when you perform, you have to go on stage and people [judge you] and you have to work hard to get their love. Here they just play the film and after everyone clapped, like “Yay we love you.” Haha. It’s like going just to the encore [of my band’s performance]. Now, every time I go into a cinema and I hear the audience clapping, I feel like they’re falling in love with Samantha through the film. It’s unforgettable.

PS: Seeing myself on film is crazy. I was like, “I’m fat! Hold your stomach in! Look at your hair!” I was sitting in the theater thinking they hate it. But then they started clapping. Then I saw there was a line of people waiting to talk to me, I was like wow. I remember this one lady who is a survivor of childhood abuse, but she’s struggling, and she was hugging me and crying. She thanked me, saying I gave her courage to tell her story. I’ll always remember that lady.

If people could take away one thing after watching “Presenting Princess Shaw,” what would you want that to be?
K: Something about being real, honest and open. I feel like there is so much fakeness out there and I think this film is about hope and being real.

PS: I want you to go away feeling good about life, and realize you can make it through. Sometimes you don’t get to live that fabulous life, but you should be ok in your life and be successful in everything you do. It doesn’t have to be in front of a crowd of people– be successful with whatever you do in life. You don’t have to be famous to be successful, success is here (points to her heart).

For our review of “Presenting Princess Shaw,” click here.