Stuart Samuels is an acclaimed academic and film and television producer, writer, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. His films include Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992), Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005), and The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years (2016). His works explore the relationship of popular culture to the broader historical context of their times.

Stuart began his career first in academia as a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania from 1968 – 1981 where he used feature films for understanding the relationship of pop culture to intellectual history. While in Philadelphia, he founded the Walnut Street Theatre Film/Video Center with Ruth Perlmutter (co-founder of the film festival). Leaving academia in 1981, Stuart turned from theory to practice by writing and producing the late-night music video series Nightflight (1981-86) for the USA network, described by TV Guide as “the most entertaining late night show on cable TV.”

In 1986, Stuart teamed up with director Zbig Rybczyński and produced the first works in the US to use high definition (HD): The Orchestra (1990), made for PBS, won an Emmy for Best Visual Effects and the L’Prix Italia. Stuart’s first feature documentary, Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992), which he produced and co-directed, was named “Best Documentary” of 1993 by the New York, Boston and National Film Critics. He also co-directed and co-wrote the award-winning documentary, Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998), based on the book by Neal Gabler. His feature documentary, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005), based on Stuart’s 1993 book on cult films in the 1970s, premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in the Official Selection (Out of Competition).

In 2011, Stuart produced, directed and wrote RasTa: A Soul’s Journey (2013), a feature documentary film on the relationship of Bob Marley and Rastafarian beliefs, seen through the eyes of Marley’s 24-year-old granddaughter. In 2014, he co-produced and co-created The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years (2016), a feature documentary about The Beatles Live tours and performances (directed by Ron Howard).

Stuart lives in Los Angeles and is a dual US and Canadian citizen.