I Am Samuel
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2020
June 11 - 20, 2020
Filmed over five years, I Am Samuel is an intimate portrait of a Kenyan man balancing pressures of family loyalty, love, and safety and questioning the concept of conflicting identities.
I Am Samuel is now playing through June 20! Get tickets here.
Live Q&A on Sunday June 14, 3:30 PM EDT w/ filmmaker Peter Murimi, Producer Toni Kamau and HRW’s LGBT Rights Senior Researcher Neela Ghoshal. Register for free here.
Samuel grew up on a farm in the Kenyan countryside, where tradition is valued above all else. He moves to Nairobi in search of a new life, where he finds belonging in a community of fellow queer men where he meets and falls in love with Alex. Their love thrives even though Kenyan laws criminalize anyone who identifies as LGBTQ, and together they face threats of violence and rejection. Samuel’s father, a preacher at the local church, doesn’t understand why his son is not yet married and Samuel must navigate the very real risk that being truthful to who he is may cost him his family’s acceptance. Filmed over five years, I Am Samuel is an intimate portrait of a Kenyan man balancing pressures of family loyalty, love, and safety and questioning the concept of conflicting identities.
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