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{{Infobox person
| name               = Julius Onah
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| education          = [[Wesleyan University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[New York University]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1983|02|10}}
| birth_place        = [[Makurdi]], [[Benue State]], Nigeria
| years_active       = 2002–present
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
*Filmmaker
}}
| website            = {{URL|opencontinents.com}}
}}

'''Julius Onah''' (born February 10, 1983) is a Nigerian-American filmmaker.<ref name="ScholarStories">[http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/scholar-stories/julius-onah/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501222428/http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/scholar-stories/julius-onah/|date=May 1, 2009}}</ref> He has directed the films ''[[The Girl Is in Trouble]]'' (2015), ''[[The Cloverfield Paradox]]'' (2018), ''[[Luce (film)|Luce]]'' (2019), and ''[[Captain America: Brave New World]]'' (2025).

== Early life ==
Onah was born in [[Makurdi]], [[Benue State]], [[Nigeria]]. His father, [[Adoga Onah]], was a Nigerian diplomat. He was raised in the Philippines, Nigeria, Togo, and the United Kingdom before moving to [[Arlington County, Virginia]]. Onah graduated from [[Washington-Lee High School]] in Arlington 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.<ref name=ScholarStories /> He is also a recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship.<ref name="Scholars">[http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/current/2226-Julius-A-Onah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726205630/http://www.jkcf.org/our-scholars/current/2226-Julius-A-Onah|date=July 26, 2011}}</ref>

== Career ==
Onah's work has been 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]]'' (2015) with executive producer [[Spike Lee]], featuring [[Alicja Bachleda]], [[Wilmer Valderrama]], [[Columbus Short]], and [[Jesse Spencer]]. Onah was previously set to direct the thriller film adaptation ''Brilliance'' for [[Legendary Pictures]] which [[David Koepp]] scripted with [[Will Smith]] and [[Noomi Rapace]] to star as leads.<ref>{{cite news|title=Legendary Sets Julius Onah To Helm 'Brilliance'|url=https://deadline.com/2014/02/legendary-sets-julius-onah-to-helm-brilliance-677438/|access-date=May 13, 2014|newspaper=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=February 5, 2014|archive-date=May 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520160959/http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/legendary-sets-julius-onah-to-helm-brilliance/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Anderton|first=Ethan|title='Prometheus' Star Noomi Rapace is Joining Will Smith for 'Brilliance'|url=http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/prometheus-star-noomi-rapace-is-joining-will-smith-for-brilliance/|access-date=May 13, 2014|newspaper=firstshowing.net|date=May 12, 2014|archive-date=May 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513070205/http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/prometheus-star-noomi-rapace-is-joining-will-smith-for-brilliance/|url-status=live}}</ref> He then directed ''[[The Cloverfield Paradox]]'' (2018)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062919/ |title='God Particle' believes in newbie helmer |publisher=Variety |date=November 30, 2012 |access-date=May 30, 2014 |archive-date=February 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219040315/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062919/? |url-status=live }}</ref> with producer [[J. J. Abrams]]. His film, ''[[Luce (film)|Luce]]'', featuring [[Naomi Watts]], [[Octavia Spencer]], [[Tim Roth]] and [[Kelvin Harrison Jr.]], premiered at the [[2019 Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sundance 2019: Alfre Woodard, Alec Baldwin + Making Of 'Alien', Satanists & Roy Cohn Docus Among U.S., World Cinema, NEXT, Midnight & Kids Slates|url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/sundance-2019-competition-lineups-full-list-roy-cohn-native-son-hail-satan-1202510308/|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145509/https://deadline.com/2018/11/sundance-2019-competition-lineups-full-list-roy-cohn-native-son-hail-satan-1202510308/|url-status=live}}</ref> He and J.C. Lee wrote the screenplay of the thriller film ''Bad Genius'', a remake of the 2017 Thai film of the same name.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/bad-genius-julius-onah-college-admissions-cloverfield-luce-1234926626/|title=Erik Feig & Patrick Wachsberger Gear Up On College Admissions Thriller 'Bad Genius', Julius Onah To Direct — EFM Hot Pic|first=Andreas|last=Wiseman|date=February 4, 2022|work=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> He then directed ''[[Captain America: Brave New World]]'', the fourth ''[[Captain America (film series)|Captain America]]'' film in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], with [[Anthony Mackie]] starring in the [[Sam Wilson (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|title role]].<ref name="OnahCap4">{{Cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=July 8, 2022 |title=''Captain America 4'' Finds Its Director in Filmmaker Julius Onah (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/captain-america-4-director-1235176925/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708200912/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/captain-america-4-director-1235176925/ |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |access-date=July 8, 2022 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

== Filmography ==

=== Film ===
<!--Table is for features that have been released or are confirmed to be released. DO NOT INCLUDE UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT HAVEN'T BEGAN PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY-->
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Director
! Writer
! Producer
|-
| 2015
| ''[[The Girl Is in Trouble]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
| 2018
| ''[[The Cloverfield Paradox]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2019
| ''[[Luce (film)|Luce]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
| 2024
| ''[[Bad Genius (2024 film)|Bad Genius]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2025
| ''[[Captain America: Brave New World]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| TBA
| ''[[Samo Lives]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|}

== Open Continents ==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}
Open Continents is a global media project comprising Onah's short, feature, music video and television work.

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | ''Continent''
! style="text-align: center;" | ''Title''
! style="text-align: center;" | ''Country''
! style="text-align: center;" | ''Subject''
! style="text-align: center;" | ''Year''
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | '''EUROPE'''
| ''SZMOLINSKY'' (Berlin Film Festival, SXSW Click, Melbourne Film Festival)
| style="text-align: center;" | Germany
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Euro Tales
| style="text-align: center;" | 2008
|-
| ''NIE PATRZ WSTECZ'' (London Film Festival, Camerimage Grand Jury Award)
| style="text-align: center;" | Poland
| style="text-align: center;" | 2008
|-
| ''DRIK NU AGNES''
| style="text-align: center;" | Denmark
| style="text-align: center;" | 2011
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | '''AFRICA'''
| ''GOODBYE CHICKEN, FAREWELL GOAT'' (Los Angeles Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, [[True/False Film Festival]])
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Nigeria
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | African Days
| style="text-align: center;" | 2010
|-
| ''BIG MAN'' (Dubai Film Festival, New York Times, Los Angeles Film Festival)
| style="text-align: center;" | 2012
|-
| rowspan="8" style="text-align: center;" | '''NORTH AMERICA'''
| ''SHE WAITS IN THE RESTLESS HORIZON''
| rowspan="8" style="text-align: center;" | USA
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | New York Streets
| style="text-align: center;" | 2005
|-
| ''LINUS'' (MTVu Film of the Week, 1st Place Calvin Klein Short Film Competition)
| style="text-align: center;" | 2007
|-
| ''THE GIRL IS IN TROUBLE''
| style="text-align: center;" | 2015
|-
| ''MEDITATIONS/A LOVE STORY''
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | American Lives
| style="text-align: center;" | 2004
|-
| ''THE BOUNDARY'' (Amnesty International Movies That Matter, Best Director NBC Short Cuts, HBO)
| style="text-align: center;" | 2008
|-
| "[[Broken Arrows (song)|BROKEN ARROWS]]" ([[Avicii]])
| style="text-align: center;" | 2015
|-
| ''LUCE''
| style="text-align: center;" | 2019
|-
| ''THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX''
| style="text-align: center;" | Hollywood Lights
| style="text-align: center;" | 2018
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|1564809}}
* {{Official website|http://www.juliusonah.com/}}
* [http://www.opencontinents.com/ Open Continents]

{{Julius Onah}}
{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Onah, Julius}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Film directors from Virginia]]
[[Category:American horror film directors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Arlington County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Washington-Liberty High School alumni]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
[[Category:Nigerian directors]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Julius Onah|access_date=2026-03-04}}