Julius Onah

At just 25, Nigerian-born Julius Onah is already an award-winning filmmaker. Having lived in different countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe before immigrating to the US, Julius is truly a global citizen with a unique perspective on immigration that drives and inspires his filmmaking. “I intend to create works that highlight the struggles and achievements as well as the simple day-to-day variables of immigrant life in a world that is becoming smaller and smaller as cultures are forced to interact and co-exist in ways they never have before.”

Julius has worked with filmmakers Marc Levin and Spike Lee, and his student films have screened at numerous festivals around the world. His film, Linus, won first place at the Calvin Klein Student Film Competition, and was an official selection of both the Jacksonville Film Festival and The Oxford International Film Festival. Linus was also selected as Film of the Week at the mtvU Best Filmmaker on Campus Competition, for which Julius was selected as a national Top 25 finalist. And in February 2008, Julius’ acclaimed short documentary Szmolinsky made its international premiere at the 58th Berlin Film Festival. Szmolinsky is currently being developed into the documentary feature The German Giant and will be screening across Europe, North America, and Australia during the summer.

“I believe that cinema is one of the most powerful forms of expression and communication that has ever been created,” says Julius. “In many ways it’s a great equalizer, an art form that is further being democratized and enables those without the political or economic means to pick up even a cheap video camera and tell his or her story.”

Julius is currently using his Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship to pursue an M.F.A. at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he has been selected as a Dean’s Fellow. He most recently completed The Boundary, a 35mm anamorphic short film starring Alexander Siddig (from the movies Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven), and is now preparing three feature-length films, including a feature-length film of The Boundary.