Heart of a lion

What started out as a dream has grown into an awe-inspiring new film by Rodney and Ilana Fuhr, the husband and wife team who are also the owners of the Johannesburg Lion Park.

White Lion, released in South Africa on 19 February, is a family adventure that follows the life of a white lion, Letsatsi, who is born into a tawny pride in the wilds of Africa. His colour difference makes life very difficult for him, forcing him to find his own way in the world, amidst numerous obstacles. Cast off by his pride as a young cub because of his curious complexion, Letsatsi is forced to make his way on his own in the wild, learning how to survive the threat of competitors for food, predatory crocodiles, and the growing threat of hunters who are willing to pay anything for the chance to track and kill this rare creature.

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With stunning cinematography, taking in the lush expanse of the African landscape, White Lion is a truly African cinematic experience. Letsatsi's journey is narrated by a wise old man (played by John Kani) to a group of young children around a campfire in the bush. As they are captivated by Letsatsi's epic adventures, the story is dramatised as we see this majestic creature go from frightened young cub to the regal creature he is destined to become. White Lion is told from the perspective of the animals it depicts, and they truly are the stars of the film, despite the presence of a few human actors.

"What you see is virtually written and in a sense directed by the lions," said director Michael Swan. "We allowed the lions to perform naturally, with guidance by the wranglers and although we had a script, scenes were not set in tablets of stone. Therefore some scenes had to be rewritten to accommodate the fantastic performances we were getting from the lions. Sometimes, I think they knew what the audiences would respond to better than we did!"

* View the gallery | Read our 5-star review

The filmmakers were adamant that the lions' "performances" were as close to reality as possible. "We had to represent authentic wild lion behaviour and the challenge was to tell the story entirely through the action of the lions. No lips move and we aren’t relying entirely on animatronics, puppets, or visual effects," continued Swan.

White Lion was shot on location, at The Kingdom of the White Lion, an enterprise 50 miles outside of the city of Johannesburg, along the Crocodile River, established especially for this film.

This marks the first production – entirely about lions – starring actual lions from South Africa. "To date most lion pictures shot in South Africa, have seen the import of trained lions," says producer and lion wrangler, Kevin Richardson. "Our lions look great… they’re lean, mean and heroic – not spoiled, fat and lazy."

See White Lion at cinemas from Friday, 19 February 2010, at cinemas across South Africa. You will definitely want to catch this on the big screen. If you enjoy nature documentaries, or spend hours poring over DVDs of BBC's Planet Earth, or even if you're in the mood for a truly inspiring, exceptional South African film production, then be sure to book your tickets!