Interview With Film Producer Samuel Nkwume

When Samuel Nkwume was 11 years old in Nigeria, he watched Kubrick’s The Shining for the first time. He was mesmerized. From then on, Samuel he wanted to be a filmmaker, but there weren’t many opportunities in Nigeria. After college, Samuel worked as an accountant by day and wrote reviews of Nigeria’s Nollywood films at night. After one year, he applied to film school, flew to Burbank, and never worked as an accountant again. Samuel may be the only one who actually likes L.A. traffic – at least it moves, he says, as opposed to traffic back home. Samuel has won “Best Director” and “Best Thriller” awards on the festival circuit and is bringing Game of Fear, his newest thriller, to a wider audience. If you liked Run with Sara Paulson, or Disturbia with Viola Davis, keep an eye out for Game of Fear.

Continue reading for an exclusive interview.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started working in the film industry?

I started my journey in Nigeria as an accountant. In the day, I worked as an auditor and at night I wrote movie reviews for a blog. After about a year of working after college, I realized I had to take the brave step of going into the film industry to do what I wanted. I quit my job, moved to Los Angeles for film school and that was how my career started

What initially inspired you to become a producer?

I’ve always wanted to tell stories and be creative. Growing up, I would spend a lot of time watching behind the scenes for movies. I found it so intriguing. I knew I wanted to be part of the creative process of making a film. I wasn’t exactly sure what part of production I wanted to be involved in at the time. This will all become clear eventually.

Can you tell us about some of the projects you've worked on?