Julius Onah

Julius Onah (born February 10, 1983) is a Nigerian-American filmmaker.[1]

Julius Onah
Onah in 2011
Born (1983-02-10) February 10, 1983
Makurdi, Nigeria
Alma materWesleyan University, New York University
OccupationFilm director, producer, screenwriter and actor
Years active2002-present
Websitewww.opencontinents.com

Early life

Onah was born in Makurdi, Benue State in Nigeria. He was raised in the Philippines, Nigeria, Togo and the United Kingdom before moving to Arlington County, Virginia with his diplomat father, Adoga Onah. Onah graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA and received his B.A. in theater from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He completed an M.F.A. from the graduate film program at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University where he was selected as a Dean's Fellow.[1] He is also a recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship.[2]

His twin brother, Anthony Onah, is also a director, with his first feature film The Price released in 2017.[3]

Career

Onah's work has screened at festivals around the world including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, London, Dubai, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Camerimage. In the summer of 2010, he was selected as one of Filmmaker magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film. In 2013, he was selected as one of Studio System's 10 Up and Up Feature Directors and Forbes Magazine's 13 African Celebrities To Watch. While at NYU's graduate film program he completed his first feature as his thesis, The Girl Is in Trouble (2015) with executive producer Spike Lee, featuring Alicja Bachleda, Wilmer Valderrama, Columbus Short, and Jesse Spencer. Onah was previously set to direct thriller film adaptation Brilliance for Legendary Pictures which David Koepp scripted with Will Smith and Noomi Rapace to star as leads.[4][5] He recently completed The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)[6] with producer J. J. Abrams. His latest film, Luce featuring Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth and Kelvin Harrison Jr., premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.[7]

Filmography
Year Film Director Writer Producer
2015 The Girl Is in Trouble Yes Yes Yes
2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Yes No No
2019 Luce Yes Yes Yes

Open Continents

Open Continents is a global media project comprising Onah's short, feature, music video and television work.

Continent Title Country Subject Year
EUROPE SZMOLINSKY (Berlin Film Festival, SXSW Click, Melbourne Film Festival) Germany Euro Tales 2008
NIE PATRZ WSTECZ (London Film Festival, Camerimage Grand Jury Award) Poland Euro Tales 2008
DRIK NU AGNES Denmark Euro Tales 2011
AFRICA GOODBYE CHICKEN, FAREWELL GOAT (Los Angeles Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, True/False Film Festival) Nigeria African Days 2010
BIG MAN (Dubai Film Festival, New York Times, Los Angeles Film Festival) Nigeria African Days 2012
NORTH AMERICA SHE WAITS IN THE RESTLESS HORIZON USA New York Streets 2005
LINUS (MTVu Film of the Week, 1st Place Calvin Klein Short Film Competition) USA New York Streets 2007
THE GIRL IS IN TROUBLE USA New York Streets 2015
MEDITATIONS/A LOVE STORY USA American Lives 2004
THE BOUNDARY (Amnesty International Movies That Matter, Best Director NBC Short Cuts, HBO) USA American Lives 2008
BROKEN ARROWS (Avicii) USA American Lives 2015
LUCE USA American Lives 2019
THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX USA Hollywood Lights 2018

References
  1. Archived May 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. http://www.konbini.com/ng/entertainment/heres-why-2017-is-the-year-of-nigerian-american-directors-the-onah-brothers/
  4. "Legendary Sets Julius Onah To Helm 'Brilliance'". deadline.com. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. Anderton, Ethan (12 May 2014). "'Prometheus' Star Noomi Rapace is Joining Will Smith for 'Brilliance'". firstshowing.net. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. "'God Particle' believes in newbie helmer". Variety. 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  7. "Sundance 2019: Alfre Woodard, Alec Baldwin + Making Of 'Alien', Satanists & Roy Cohn Docus Among U.S., World Cinema, NEXT, Midnight & Kids Slates".
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