Julius Onah (born February 10, 1983) is a

Nigerian-American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and occasional actor.

Early life

Onah was born in

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popul ...

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. His father

Adoga Onah Adoga Augustine Onah (born 20 January 1940) was a former Nigerian Ambassador whose diplomatic postings included Sweden, the Philippines, and the United States. Education and personal life Born in Okpoma, Cross River State, Nigeria, Onah studie ...

, was a Nigerian diplomat. He was raised in the Philippines, Nigeria, Togo and the United Kingdom before moving to

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. Onah graduated from

Washington-Lee High School Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, is a public high school in the Arlington Public Schools district in Arlington, Virginia, covering grades 9–12. Its attendance area serves the central third of A ...

in Arlington, VA and received his B.A. in theater from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under its ...

. He completed an M.F.A. from the graduate film program at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

where he was selected as a Dean's Fellow. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship.
His twin brother,

Anthony Onah Anthony Onah (born February 10, 1983) is an Nigerian-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his debut feature, '' The Price'' (2017), which premiered at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it was no ...

, is also a director, with his first feature film '' The Price'' released in 2017.

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 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 ''The Girl Is in Trouble'' is a 2015 American thriller film directed by Julius Onah. It stars Columbus Short, Wilmer Valderrama, Alicja Bachleda and Jesse Spencer. The original motion picture soundtrack contains the theme song titled "Solitude". T ...

'' (2015) with executive producer

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, featuring

Alicja Bachleda Alicja is a Polish language given name that is equivalent to Alice in English. Notable people with the name include: *Alicja Bachleda-Curuś (born 1983), Polish actress and singer *Alicja Boratyn (born 1992), Polish singer *Alicja Dorabialska (189 ...

, Wilmer Valderrama,

Columbus Short Columbus Keith Short Jr. (born September 19, 1982) is an American actor and choreographer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman (of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' fame). He is best known for his roles ...

, and

Jesse Spencer Jesse Gordon Spencer (born 12 February 1979) is an Australian actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Billy Kennedy on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1994–2000, 2005, 2022), Robert Chase on the American medical drama ...

. Onah was previously set to direct thriller film adaptation ''Brilliance'' for

Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC ( doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborate ...

which

David Koepp David Koepp (; born June 9, 1963) is an American filmmaker. Koepp is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial ...

scripted with

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

and

Noomi Rapace Noomi Rapace (; ; born 28 December 1979) is a Swedish actress.Karen Olsson, ''The New York Times Magazine'', 27 May 2012, p. 26. She achieved international fame with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of the ''Mil ...

to star as leads. He then directed ''

The Cloverfield Paradox ''The Cloverfield Paradox'' is a 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Julius Onah and written by Oren Uziel, from a story by Uziel and Doug Jung, and produced by J. J. Abramss Bad Robot Productions. It is the third film in th ...

'' (2018) with producer J. J. Abrams. His latest film, '' Luce'' featuring

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors ...

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

and

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Kelvin Harrison Jr. (born July 23, 1994) is an American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for a British Academy Film Award, Gotham Award, an Independent Spirit Award. He began his caree ...

, premiered at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * ' ...

. He is set to direct thriller film ''Bad Genius'', a remake of the 2017 Thai film of the same name. He is also set to direct '' Captain America: New World Order'', the fourth ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' movie in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

, with

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...

starring in the

titular role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

Filmography

Open Continents

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

References

External links

* *
Open Continents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onah, Julius 1983 births Living people Horror film directors Film directors from Virginia People from Arlington County, Virginia Wesleyan University alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Washington-Liberty High School alumni