Black Panther actress Sasha Morfaw, Heroes actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, and Veep actress Sufe Bradshaw have wrapped shooting on Maritte Go’s Rise, an English-language thriller about Nigerian terror group Boko Haram.

sasha morfaw c defiant

Source: Defiant

Sasha Morfaw

The film follows an 18 year-old Nigerian princess (Morfaw) who allows herself to be kidnapped by Boko Haram in an attempt to save her younger sister. She eventually goes head-to-head with the group’s dangerous and calculating leader (Jean-Louis). Sydelle Noel (Glow) and Peter Mensah (300) also star. The film shot in Los Angeles and Ghana.

Rise is the feature debut of Filipino-US filmmaker Go, who co-wrote the script with Broderick Engelhard. Producers are Eric B. Fleischman’s Defiant Studios, with Maurice Fadida of Kodiak Pictures, both based in the US.

The film falls under a slate deal announced this year in which Kodiak and German outfit Telepool are investing in a series of genre titles from producer Defiant.

Mickey Gooch Jr. and G.D.Guyer of Kodiak are serving as executive producers alongside André Druskeit of Telepool, as well as Kewku Mandela.

“As a victim of violence and a woman of colour,” said director Go. “I have always dreamt of making a film that empowers women and incites change. This is a story very close to my heart and in times like this I hope to make an impact with this film.”

Earlier this year, German sales and distribution company Telepool was jointly acquired by Hollywood actor Will Smith and German-born Swiss director Marc Forster.

Read more: Telepool chief reveals why Marc Forster and Will Smith bought the company (exclusive)

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