I Am Samuel

synopsis

Samuel grew up in the Kenyan countryside, where tradition is valued above all else. He is close to his mother but his father, a local pastor, does not understand why he is not married yet. After moving to Kenya’s capital in search of work and a new life, Samuel falls in love with Alex and finds community and belonging. Their love thrives despite the fact that Kenyan laws criminalize anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+. Despite threats of violence and rejection, Samuel and Alex move between their co-existing worlds, hoping to win acceptance in both.

about the director

Peter Murimi is a multiple award-winning Kenyan TV documentary director focusing on hard-hitting social issues, from extrajudicial killings to sex work. He recently won the 2019 Rory Peck award for a news feature about suicide. His first major win was the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Award for Walk to Womanhood (2004), an intimate documentary about Female Genital Mutilation among his Kuria community. Another ground-breaking project was his film Slum Survivors (2007), filmed in the Kenyan capital, which won an award at the Czech Tur Ostrava Film Festival. Peter was a producer and director for Al Jazeera’s Africa Investigates strand, which exposes crime and corruption. I am Samuel (2020) is his feature directorial debut, filmed in vérité style over the course of five years in his home country.