Des Samuel

Head of Digital Communications Services, Faculty of Medicine

What quote do you find inspiring?

In Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks he says: “Oh my body, make of me a man who always questions!”

What led you to working at Imperial?

Film director Spike Lee was one of my first inspirations – his movie Do the Right Thing left me shocked to find that a Black person - someone like me - could make films. I wanted to be a film maker so took acting classes, writing lessons and joined film workshops, gaining qualifications along the way. I completed a BSc in Media and Society at London South Bank University and subsequently, have done a range of things, from setting up my own music website and events production company to working in digital communications for Local Government, charities and the private sector. I joined Imperial on a 2-month contract and have been here ever since.

Do you have a favourite film?

There is a scene in a movie called Gattaca which I relate to. In the movie, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), has always fantasized about traveling into outer space, but is grounded by his genetic status. In one scene, Vincent and his genetically superior brother are swimming out into the ocean. Anton is exhausted and has to be rescued by is “inferior” brother. Unable to accept the result Anton asks how he did it. Vincent responds: “You wanna know how I did it? This is how I did it […] I never saved anything for the swim back.”