From Wall Street to Filmmaker: How AmeriFilms Was Built

I grew up in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, without running water most days and with electricity that came and went. When I was about twelve, my best friend gave me a vintage Kodak camera his father had brought back from Senegal. I loved the sound the shutter made in the empty chamber. I loved the weight of it. I couldn’t afford the $2 film rolls, so I never actually took a photograph with it. But I held that camera for hours.

That’s where this started.

New York, Wall Street, and a roommate who changed everything

I moved to New York City in 2001. I studied accounting, then worked as a senior tax analyst on Wall Street for six years. I was good at it. The work was serious and the pay was real. But something kept pulling me back to that camera.

My roommate at the time was a film student at NYU Tisch. He introduced me to editing. I bought a Mac at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, a copy of Final Cut Pro 5, and Diana Weynand’s training books. I started learning to cut on nights and weekends.

I didn’t quit Wall Street to chase a dream. I left because I found something I was more honest at.

The George Washington University Documentary Institute

I enrolled at the GWU Documentary Institute and produced my first film: Life in Strides. It’s an 18-minute documentary about Jake Luoma, a young man on the autism spectrum who competes in therapeutic horseback riding. Jake’s mother Joanne had been by his side through every ride. The film follows them as Jake enters his first non-therapeutic competition — where nothing is within their control.

That film taught me what documentary filmmaking actually is. It’s not about equipment or technique. It’s about earning the trust of the people in front of your lens, then honoring that trust with every edit decision you make.

Qatar, Africa, and building a global eye

From 2017 to 2021, I worked in Qatar — producing sports coverage, corporate documentaries, and brand films across the Middle East and Africa. I filmed in countries most people can’t find on a map. I learned to tell stories in environments where the language, the light, and the culture were all unfamiliar.

That’s the perspective I brought back to Dayton.

Why Dayton

I moved to Dayton, Ohio in 2021 and founded AmeriFilms. People sometimes ask why Dayton. The answer is simple: Dayton is full of companies and organizations doing genuinely important work, and almost none of them have a film that shows it.

There’s a proverb I come back to often: As long as the lion doesn’t tell his own version, the story of the hunter will always glorify the hunter.

That’s what we do at AmeriFilms. We help companies and founders tell their own version. Not the marketing version. The true one.

What AmeriFilms is today

We produce documentary-style brand films, corporate documentaries, testimonial series, aerial cinematography, and event coverage for companies across Ohio and beyond. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and public sector organizations.

We’re based in Dayton. We work everywhere.

If you have a story worth telling — and most companies do — reach out. We’ll find the film inside it.

Learn more about Souley Oumarou and the AmeriFilms services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded AmeriFilms?

Souley Oumarou, a documentary filmmaker who grew up in Niger, worked six years as a senior tax analyst on Wall Street, trained at the George Washington University Documentary Institute, and produced internationally before founding AmeriFilms in Dayton, Ohio.

What was Souley Oumarou's first documentary?

Life in Strides, an 18-minute documentary about Jake Luoma, a young man on the autism spectrum competing in his first non-therapeutic horseback riding competition.

What international experience does AmeriFilms bring?

From 2017 to 2021, Souley Oumarou produced sports coverage, corporate documentaries, and brand films across the Middle East and Africa from a base in Qatar. AmeriFilms' production experience spans four continents.

Why is AmeriFilms based in Dayton, Ohio?

Because Dayton is full of companies and organizations doing genuinely important work — and almost none of them have a film that shows it. AmeriFilms helps companies and founders tell their own version of their story.