Anthony Onah

Filmmaker

Anthony Onah is a Nigerian American filmmaker who grew up in the Philippines, England, Nigeria, Togo, and the U.S. His debut feature, The Price, premiered at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival in the Narrative Feature Competition, and was released in theaters in November 2017. Onah graduated from Harvard, where he studied biochemistry and neuroscience, then earned an MFA in film directing from UCLA. He was named to Filmmaker Magazine’s list of “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2015, and is an alum of the Sundance Institute Catalyst Forum.

Onah is currently in development on his sophomore feature, Goliath. The project participated in the 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and was awarded the 2019 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. 

Interview Link:

Creative Resources:

  • Directors Guild of America Director’s Cut Podcast - This podcast consists of directors interviewing other directors about their latest work—providing invaluable insights into the filmmaker’s craft.
  • American Cinematographer Magazine - The magazine highlights the creative conversation between the director and the cinematographer, then delves into the technical details of how the film gets shot.
  • [LENS] Blog – The New York Times  - This inspiring blog sparks my visual imagination, and reminds me of the power inherent to images.
  • The New York Review of Books - Excellent long-form articles on books, science, and current affairs that encourage careful engagement with important issues.
  • Longform - A good resource for inspiring, long-form writing that draws from a range of sources.
  • Yuval Noah Harari - Harari (currently my favorite writer of any kind) is a historian whose writing grapples with how technology is altering the way we live. His work leads me to see anew things that I thought I understood, while challenging me as a storyteller to think about the important stories that lie just around the corner.