Sam Firstenberg (born Shmulik Firstenberg on March 13, 1950) is an Israeli-American film director.

He is best known for having made low-budget B-movies most of his career, among them the first two films in the American Ninja series, American Ninja and American Ninja 2: The Confrontation.

[1] Firstenberg's filmography includes genres such as comedy, action, musicals, drama, science fiction, thrillers, and horror.

Born in Poland to a Jewish family, Sam Firstenberg grew up in Jerusalem.

[citation needed] He has directed 22 theatrical feature films since completing his graduate studies in film at Loyola Marymount University.