SAMUEL BENAGR

Dr. Samuel Benagr holds a PhD in Cinema and New Technologies and an MA in International Cinema from the University of Bedfordshire. I earned my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ghana, reading combined majors in French and Theatre Arts. My areas of research interest cover new Media Technologies, Video Filmmaking in West Africa, Identity Formations as a result of media usage/consumption.
I have over a decade’s experience in the West African film and media industries. This includes my work as the Head of Media Strategies and Operations at Freedom Media Productions in the UK where I supervised the productions of ZAFAA 2011 and the Kente Media Awards 2011.
I have also directed weekly television programmes in Ghana while working at Insel Communications, a multimedia production outfit, as Project Coordinator. I had the privilege of working on the same set with such a great African film icon as Gaston Kabore during an internship at the National Cinematography Centre in Burkina Faso.
I later joined MediaCom, a media consulting firm, and worked as Media Strategist in charge of West Africa Central, and has presented papers on African video filmmaking and festivals at international conferences in the US, Italy, Brazil, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, and a contributing author for the World Directory of Cinema – Africa version.