Rick Famuyiwa

Rick Famuyiwa
Famuyiwa at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International.
Born	(1973-06-18) June 18, 1973 (age 43)
Nationality	Nigerian-American
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1999–present
Spouse(s)	Glenita Mosley (m. 1999)

Rick Famuyiwa (born June 18, 1973) is a Nigerian-American film director, producer and screenwriter of films such as The Wood (1999), Brown Sugar (2002), Talk to Me (2007), and Dope (2015).

Famuyiwa is a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) and has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Film & Television Production and Critical Studies, from the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences and the School of Cinematic Arts, respectively. Rick Famuyiwa is a member of the Director’s Guild of America.

Rick Famuyiwa grew up near Los Angeles, California in the City of Inglewood. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Famuyiwa is a first-generation American. Reflecting on his time growing up in Inglewood, Famuyiwa recounts, “The thing you gotta understand about L.A. is that everything is suburbia. Los Angeles isn't set up like San Francisco or New York. People come to L.A. and they expect to see a ghetto like the projects, but that's not the way it's set up. Inglewood, in particular, is the furthest thing from a ghetto. It's a middle-class community, but it's gotten a bad rap over the years...because of Grand Canyon and Pulp Fiction and other films.” Famuyiwa continues about his hometown, “I would be lying if I said there isn't a negative element in the city, but I would say it's no different than any other city. You come across gangs and you come across negative things -- but it's like everywhere else, if that's what you gravitate toward and that's what you want to do, you're gonna find trouble no matter what you do. But we were never into that. My group of friends were never into that.”

After high school, Famuyiwa attended the University of Southern California (USC) and double majored in Cinematic Arts Film & Television Production and Cinematic Arts Critical Studies. During his time at the University, Famuyiwa worked intimately with film professor Todd Boyd, who would later help write and produce his first feature film. In 1996, prior to graduation, Famuyiwa created a 12-minute short film entitled Blacktop Lingo that garnered critical positive feedback and led to his invitation to the Sundance Filmmaker’s Institute. In 1997, during his time at the Sundance Director’s Lab, Famuyiwa perfected his craft and put the finishing touches on The Wood, what would later be his first feature film. In 1999, Famuyiwa married Glenita Mosley whom he met at the University of California, Los Angeles.