Pascal Atuma

Biography: Pascal Atuma is a Canadian/Nigerian actor, screenwriter, film producer, film director, and comedian. Born in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria to a large family of seven, Pascal moved to the United States in 1995 after attending Government College Umuahia and the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria. He initially tried pursuing a career as a civil engineer before switching gears and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. In 2002, he graduated from the Kim Dawson Acting College in Dallas, Texas, and dabbled in theater before relocating to Hollywood. With the help of fellow Nigerian writer/producer/director Michael Ajakwe Jr., Pascal made a successful transition into Los Angeles' highly competitive world of entertainment. Under the tutelage of his mentors -- Michael Ajakwe Jr., and his godfather in the business Ayuko Babu, who is the founder and executive director of the Pan African Film Festival -- Pascal has blossomed into a creative and talented professional. Today, Pascal is a quintuple threat as a comedian-turned-actor, writer, producer and director added to his credits. As a director, he's helmed most of his seven movie productions - that is, "The Trace" (coming soon), "Who Is the Man?" "Okoto the Messenger," "My American Nurse" and its sequel, "My American Nurse 2." His breakout directorial debut, "My American Nurse," premiered in the United States at the 2006 Pan African Film Festival. Its sequel, My American Nurse 2, also premiered at the Pan African Film Festival. As an actor, he's starred in many of his own productions, as well as other Nollywood projects, including "Through the Glass," "The Other Side of Love," "Faithfulness" and "Secret Past." With each of his projects, Pascal makes the rounds on the film-festival circuit. Five of his films have been official selections of the Pan African Film Festival and four in Black Harvest International Festival of Film and Video. "My American Nurse 2," was released into the North American market (USA and Canada) in 2010 and quickly became a top selling African movie in the States and Canada. His other films "Only in America" and "Hurricane in the Rose Garden" were released worldwide by Maverick Entertainment. In 2007, Hurricane in the Rose Garden received an honorable mention in the Pan African Film Festival. Pascal Atuma served as a keynote speaker at UCLA's Fifty Years of African Writing: Novels, Filmmaking, Criticism Seminar on February 14, 2011.