Dreams are worth fighting for, no matter what. That simple message is the driving force behind the spirited, and at times heartbreaking, documentary Presenting Princess Shaw (available on demand May 27). At the center of the story is Princess Shaw (aka Samantha Montgomery), a singer–songwriter who spends her days caring for the elderly and her nights moonlighting as a regular at open mics.
Through laughter, tears and an a cappella performance of a song, she copes with constant rejection and the residual effects of an abusive past by way of her YouTube channel. Nearly 7,000 miles away, outside Tel Aviv, a composer and video artist named Kutiman is listening, and after he adds music to her ditty “Give It Up,” she becomes a viral sensation. (To date, the clip has reached 2.5 million views.) The rest is her tale of triumph, still in the making. “I’m just living in the moment,” she says. “I prayed so hard and asked that God lead me. He kept pushing me in this direction, so I feel like I was born to do this.”
Watch an exclusive clip of Presenting Princess Shaw below.