Rick Famuyiwa: Nigerian Hollywood Writer and Director

Rick Famuyiwa , born on June 18, 1973, is an emerging Nigerian American Hollywood writer and director of films
such as The Wood (1999), Talk To Me (2007), and Brown Sugar (2002). His most recent film is the comedy Our Family Wedding (2010), starring Forest Whitaker and America Ferrera Famuyiwa’s films mainly explore themes of racial diversity and acceptance of oneself and others, especially within communities of color. In the majority of
Famuyiwa’s films, friendship plays a central role to the characters’ development and progression throughout the film. It is helpful to note also that Rick Famuyiwa’s upbringing in the racially eclectic Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood has had a tremendous impact on his cinematic works and point of view as both an individual and artist.
In The Wood , the male bonding between the three childhood friends is the main focus of the film. Commenting on the lack of male bonding depictions in African American Films, Famuyiwa says, “So just in general, if it’s a man in the film, he’s gotta be tough, he’s gotta be carrying a gun, he’s gotta be saving the world, and you rarely get to see that. But especially if you’re talking about African American films. You never see that. I mean, you see the opposite, with Black women bonding, but you’ve never seen that for men.” Although The Wood
was not revolutionary in its depiction of African American male bonding, it did provide audiences with an angle and
message in cinema seldom seen elsewhere. Additionally, thus far, nearly all of Famuyiwa’s feature films have dealt with the institution of marriage in one form or another. Oftentimes marriage in Famuyiwa’s films coincides with race relations and the evolution of
relationships that must grow and mature to accommodate each character’s specific needs.