Nigerian filmmaker, Julius Onah, explores racism in Hollywood film ‘Luce’

Nigerian-American filmmaker, Julius Onah, has examined racism, prejudice, and stereotypes in a new, thought-provoking film, ‘Luce’.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the gripping trailer for the movie, viewers are presented with a plot that raises discussions on the depth of stereotypes, especially in America.

‘Luce’ follows Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a model student that pleases the parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) who adopted him from a war-torn African nation.

While they love him, they still harbour concerns that he might be haunted by the violent trauma of his past as he was a child-soldier in Eritrea.

When Luce’s teacher, Harriet (Oscar-winning actress, Octavia Spencer) discovers the well-researched paper he wrote about political violence, she begins to investigate.

However, her investigations seems to harbour prejudice and her discoveries set off a chain of events that will change everyone’s lives forever.

NAN reports that ‘Luce’ made its debut at the Sundance Festival 2019 where it was one of the most debated movies, and the trailer shows why Onah was praised for the filmmaking.

Onah, who was born in Benue State, was raised in the Philippines, Nigeria, Togo and the United Kingdom before moving to Arlington County, Virginia, with his diplomat father, Adoga Onah.

He received his B.A. in theatre 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.

Onah’s work has screened at festivals around the world including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, London, Dubai, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Camerimage.

In 2010, he was selected as one of Filmmaker magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film.