Toronto prodcos Circle Blue Entertainment and Freddie Films will head to Nigeria for a second unit shoot on Nigerian-Canadian filmmaker Lonzo Nzekwe’s feature Orah.

The action-drama (pictured) is written, directed and produced by Nzekwe (Anchor Baby) under his Ajax, Ont.-based banner IronFlix along with producers Floyd Kane (Diggstown) of Freddie Films and Amos Adetuyi (Jean Of The Joneses) of Circle Blue Entertainment.

Orah is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, and the Ontario Creates Film Fund.

Principal photography on the film began earlier this month in Sudbury, Ont. The project will move to Nigeria at the end of November. LevelFilm handles distribution rights, according to a spokesperson of the film.

The story follows a woman who kills a man in Nigeria and flees to Canada without her infant son. It stars Oyin Oladejo (Star Trek: Discovery), Agape Mngomezulu (The Parker Andersons), Lucky Onyekachi Ejim (Kim’s Convenience), Morgan Bedard (Hard Rock Medical), Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama (Titans), Oris Erhuero (We Were Once), O.C. Ukeje (Brotherhood), Femi Lawson (Because We Are) and Christopher Seivright (Take Note).

Nzekwe said in a statement that after developing the film for the past 11 years, he is grateful to finally begin shooting and honoured “to be able to shoot part of the film in Nigeria, which plays such a key role.”

“It’s great to bring a story to the screen that reflects my Nigerian heritage,” added Adetuyi.

Nzekwe is a screenwriter, director and producer, known for his films Meet the Parents and Anchor Baby. In 2015, he founded IronFlix, a prodco and online film streaming platform focusing on movies from Africa and the African diaspora.

Kane and Adetuyi are frequent collaborators, most recently on the legal drama Diggstown, which ended its four-season run on CBC this month, and Shelley Niro’s upcoming feature Café Daughter. They also previously partnered on the films Jean of the Joneses and Angelique’s Isle.

Image courtesy of Circle Blue Entertainment