Guest post by Kate Busby

Since winning First Prize for the striking Adobe Youth Voices film “What About the Families?” – a psychological enquiry into the effects of prison life on the offenders’ families – 18-year old Samangua Kitondo has gone from strength to strength.

Originally from Dunraven School, one of our most established Adobe Youth Voices sites in the UK, Sam (as he is known) is currently sinking his teeth into the first year of his Media and Marketing degree at the University of East London, a choice inspired by his participation in Adobe Youth Voices which subsequently led to his growing love of film-making.

Youth Leader Emerges
But not only this, Sam has just been elected Chairman of the Brixton Road Youth Centre, which is a unique organization driven “for young people by young people” from the North Lambeth area in London. There he organizes and leads projects engaging many of the local youth both in school and out, especially within the borough; one of his earlier projects involved delivering film workshops for pupils at Charles Edward Brooks School and at the British Film Institute, in collaboration with Direct-Enterprise.

On top of that, Sam has taken his own time to seek further experience through ITV Fixers, a nationwide government campaign to encourage youth aged 16 – 25 years old to produce short films which tackle local social issues, with the opportunity to have the outcomes broadcast on terrestrial TV.  After receiving a visit from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson at BRYC, Sam’s determination to get the project more funding has led him to launch an appeal to obtain more for the Youth Centre so it can expand its program of activities and engage more youth in the area.

Making A Splash
Sam dropped by to see me for half an hour, en route to the “Race for Opportunity” awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane for an award Brixton Road Youth Centre had won, to tell me a little more about another project of his that came as a result of Adobe Youth Voices – he is now succeeding to be a protégé of BAFTA-award winning British director, Noel Clarke, whom Sam met at the London Adobe Youth Voices Live! event last April, and looks to have a cameo acting role in Mr. Clarke’s future projects.

“I like to go against the grain,” says Sam with a big smile. “Even with What About the Families? my collaborator Nicola (Stewart-Belle) – who too had a big part in developing the idea – and I were looking to make a film about crime but approach it in a fresh way, using it as a deterrent so that other young people consider their actions. I think the same is true of Noel Clarke’s style, and that’s why I really enjoy learning from him. He invited me to a preview of his latest film 4.3.2.1. and asked me to critique it. I was honest, I said what I liked and what I didn’t – and he really appreciated that. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind and say or do something that might be different from the crowd – and nor am I!”

Growing With Adobe Youth Voices
Far from leaving his Adobe Youth Voices days behind, Sam has expressed a genuine interest to assume the role of Educator to set up an Adobe Youth Voices site at his youth center, and is currently in talks with Offscreen to put together a proposal for this in the coming weeks.

Kate Busby,
Adobe Youth Voices Master Educator