A Lion Returns

A Lion Returns
Directed bySerhat Caradee
Written bySerhat Caradee
Produced byLiz Burton
Serhat Caradee
Starring
CinematographySimon Koloadin
Edited bySerhat Caradee
Sabin Gnawali
Devyn Heusmann
Music byMatt Rudduck
Production
company
Bonafide Pictures
Distributed byBonsai Films
Release dates
  • 22 April 2020 (2020-04-22) (Gold Coast Film Festival)
  • 5 November 2020 (2020-11-05) (Australia)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic

A Lion Returns is a 2020 Australian drama film directed by Serhat Caradee, starring Tyler De Nawi, Danny Elacci, Jacqui Purvis, Taffy Hany, Buddy Dannoun, Helen Chebatte and Maha Wilson.

Cast

  • Tyler De Nawi as Jamal Alamein
  • Danny Elacci as Omar Alamein
  • Jacqui Purvis as Heidi Alamein
  • Taffy Hany as Yusef Alamein
  • Buddy Dannoun as Yahya Alamein
  • Helen Chebatte as Manal Alamein
  • Maha Wilson as Maya Alamein
  • Maddox Elachi as Khalil Alamein
  • Mohammad Mick Farroukh as Hesham
  • Oliver Trajkovski as Mahmood
  • Serhat Caradee as Ahmed
  • Frances Duca as Auntie Fadia

Release

The film premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival on 22 April 2020. The film opened in theatres in Australia on 5 November.[1]

Reception

Erin Free of FilmInk called the film a "volatile, extraordinarily well-crafted treatise on the dangers of extremism, and how the bonds with the ones that you love can bring it undone", a "mini-miracle of local filmmaking" and an "excellent piece of cinema outside of its incredible production history." Free also praised the performances, calling them "uniformly excellent", and wrote that Caradee "displays a resolute command of his material from beginning to end".[2]

Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote that while the script is "probably too verbose" and largely "predictable", the film's story is "told with such conviction" and the actors "pack" their dialogue with "such a charge that there’s a wealth of family history in every word."[3]

Awards and nominations

A Lion Returns was nominated for the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film in the 10th AACTA Awards.[4]

References

  1. ^ Duffield, Simon (14 October 2020). "A LION RETURNS". FilmInk. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  2. ^ Free, Erin. "A Lion Returns". FilmInk. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. ^ Hall, Sandra (4 November 2020). "When an IS soldier returns to Sydney's western suburbs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Winners & Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 26 February 2024.