British Jamaican Alfred Samuels has won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the World Film Carnival in Singapore for his work as executive producer of A Survivor Amongst Survivors. Diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer in 2012, he turned his energies toward inspiring, motivating, and educating people about the disease. He authored the books “Invincibility in the Face of Prostate Cancer: Coming Out the Other Side” and “Motivated to Inspire,” and now his documentary has become his latest inspiration about preventing and fighting the deadly illness.
Samuels began a difficult journey to fight his prostate cancer after he was given only six months to live. When asked to participate in a Stampede drug trial a clinical trial funded by the Cancer Research UK organization Samuels agreed citing he had nothing to lose. The trial consisted of the drug Abiraterone combined with standard hormone therapy. His condition worsened before it got better, and Samuels had days when he thought he would not survive. His mother had already died of breast cancer; within six months of the start of his treatment, Samuels’ sister died of cancer, and five years later, his brother died of prostate cancer.
Amazingly, as years passed, Samuels began to win his battle against cancer. He continued to progress, and his consultant could not understand how he survived the disease that decimated his family. Not only did he survive but he continued to improve year after year. However, he knew that he was changing “mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.” He noted the importance of accepting the reality of his situation, and he learned that the more he feared the disease, the more he paid attention to defeating it. And he learned to transform despair into hope.
He has come through his experience with a message for men who hesitate to receive prostate cancer screening. He wants them to know that the disease is curable if it is caught early. He also emphasizes that men owe it to their families to be screened.
By 2035, estimates place the number of people in the UK who will contract cancer will total 500,000 a year. This has serious implications for the National Health Service, Samuels said, which must ensure that there is a specialist cancer nursing staff to address the increase in the number of diagnosed individuals.
Alfred Samuels was born into a Jamaican family in the United Kingdom. He earned a master’s degree in security management before pursuing his writing and filmmaking career. In 2019 he was named the Ambassador of the Year at the awards ceremony of Cancer Research UK Flame of Hope. The awards recognize the exceptional achievements of volunteers in the UK
Alfred has also worked in the entertainment industry for the past 28 years, for stars such as Bob Dylan, Sade, Seal and Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Mariah Carey, Oasis, and Rod Stewart, to name a few.
World Film Carnival (WFC) is a global platform covering worldwide live screening events, effectively connecting all big cities and diverse rich cultural hubs of the world. WFC organizes annual award ceremonies, provides distribution opportunities, and builds an ever-growing active network of independent filmmakers worldwide. The organization operates a chain of global film festivals and has become a major platform for emerging artists and established filmmakers alike.
