Mia and the White Lion

Name: Mia and the White Lion
Genre: Adventure, Family, Drama
Released: 2018-08-02
Duration: 1 h 38 min
Rating: 7.9
Cast: Daniah De Villiers, Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton

Friendship is the wildest adventure of all

Mia et le lion blanc (2018)

Timing: 1:38 (98 min)

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Everything about the movie

Video 9

Photo 30

Actors and characters

Video for the film Mia and the White Lion — Mia and The White Lion - Official Trailer | April 12

1:30

Photo 30

Release date

2018-08-02

Country

South Africa, Germany, France

Production

StudioCanal, Canal+, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, M6 Films, M6, Ciné+, W9, Pandora Film, Film Afrika, Galatée Films, Outside Films

Genre

Adventure, Family, Drama

Budget

$9 600 000

Box office

$36 412 175

Website

https://www.miaandthewhitelion.movie

Director

Gilles de Maistre

Actors

Daniah De Villiers, Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton, Lillian Dube, Brandon Auret, Elvis the Meerkat, Benjamin Garrad, Andrew Stock
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Jacques Perrin, Gilles de Maistre, Stéphane Simon, Nicolas Elghozi, Valentine Perrin

Camera operator

Brendan Barnes

Composer

Armand Amar

Artist

Ruth Greaves

Audition

Editing

Whole Team (33)

Short description

A young girl from London moves to Africa with her parents where she befriends a lion cub.

What's left behind the scenes

Filming went smoothly until the lion turned two years old, after which the film crew worked in cages, as lions enter adolescence at that age.
The filmmakers rejected over 300 applicants for the role, which was ultimately played by Dania De Villiers. During filming, the girl and the lion named Thor spent a long time in close proximity to each other. The filmmakers claim that the most difficult thing was not finding a girl for the lead role, but finding parents who would agree to let their child film with a predator.
Director Gilles de Maistre considered filming a sequel, but abandoned the idea, as he would have had to rebuild the friendship between the heroine and the lion from scratch.
When the director came up with the idea for the film, he consulted with specialist Kevin Richardson and asked if it was possible to film a child with a lion. He was told that it was impossible, and that the only way to ensure the child's safety was for the child and the lion to grow up together. This process would take three years for the lion – too long for filming. The director found Dania De Villiers in South Africa, arranged for her to grow up with a white lion cub, and filmed the movie over 2.5 years, from May 2015 to December 2017. The other actors flew in for filming as needed.
When the director first came up with the idea for the film, he consulted specialist Kevin Richardson to ask if it was possible to film a child with a lion. He was told that it was impossible and that the only way to ensure the child's safety was for the child and the lion to grow up together. For the lion, this process would take three years—too long for a film production. The director found Dania Dewille in South Africa, arranged for her to be raised with a white lion cub, and filmed the movie over 2.5 years, from May 2015 to December 2017. The other actors flew in for filming as needed.
The filmmakers rejected over 300 candidates for the role eventually played by Dania Dewille. During filming, the girl and a lion named Thor spent a significant amount of time in close proximity to one another. The creators of the film claim that the hardest part was not finding a girl for the lead role, but finding parents who would agree to let their child film with a predator.
Director Gilles de Maistre considered filming a sequel but abandoned the idea, as it would have required rebuilding the friendship between the protagonist and the lion from scratch.