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To Walk With Lions
To Walk With Lions“A fabulous film based on the lives of
  two men whose passion for lions and
  their welfare drove them to extraordinary
  lengths to protect these amazing
  creatures — despite the seemingly-
  immovable hurdles that stood in their
  way in their determination To Walk
  With Lions...”

STUBBORN AND RESOLUTE, George Adamson (an outstanding and remarkably empathic lead performance from the magnificent acting legend Richard Harris), the renowned conservationist and lion expert, has established a wildlife reserve and compound at Kora, in the African wilderness, where he rescues and rears lions to be rehabilitated into the wild.

Living with his brother Terence (Ian Bannen) — who dislikes lions but loves elephants — and separated from the feisty Joy (Honor Blackman), his adored but difficult wife, he has created the perfect sanctuary for himself and the creatures with whom he shares an affinity.

“Sensitively created,
beautifully filmed,
inspirational
and an exciting,
totally riveting movie,
To Walk With Lions
is a poignant tribute to
a dedicated man and
his protégé...”
To Walk With Lions opens in Kenya in the late 1980's with the tragic death of George's assistant Stanley (Dale Liselo) and the arrival of British backpacker Tony Fitzjohn (John Michie) an aimless graduate who is desperate to earn money and move on. He has been promised driving work as a safari guide by Johnny "Maxie" Maxwell (Hugh Quarshie) but turns up late and drunk and loses out on the job.

With no money and no immediate prospects, Tony needs to get back to Garissa. He begs a lift from a passing stranger and finds himself at Kora, being offered a job and face-to-face with the ageing George Adamson.

At first Tony's arrogance earns him a reprimand from George. George sees lions as man's spiritual brothers, respecting and understanding them, but Tony is apprehensive at the thought of being in such close proximity to the lions.

It seems as if his job is over before it has begun. But Tony's strong sense of justice and love of a challenge takes over when John Bell (Guy Williams) of the Kenya Wildlife Service turns up to tell George he can no longer shoot game to feed the lions and that there is talk of shutting down the lion release programme.

After a shaky start with both George and the lions, Tony begins to develop a rapport with the animals and forges a strong bond with the older man, with whom he now works closely. George teaches him how to respect the wonderful creatures that he is so in tune with and who mean everything to him.

Unfortunately there are many problems to overcome; including Somali Chief Haji Abu Jibril (Raymond Opula) and his son Yusif (Tonny Njuguna), who wish to graze their cattle on Kora and cannot see why George objects. Monitoring the Somalis is Lucy Jackson (Kerry Fox), who studied Anthropology at Oxford and who clashes with Tony in an ethical dilemma — who has the most right over the land, the wildlife or the indigenous peoples?

When Joy arrives for a periodic visit with George, sparks fly between her and Terence; and in the wake of tragedy, George also receives a visit from former love Victoria Anrecelli (Geraldine Chapman).

Facing Shifta bandits who are refugees from the wars further North, government intervention and poachers, George and Tony — now as passionate about the conservation project as his mentor — fight for the rights of their beloved lions.

Sensitively created, beautifully filmed, inspirational and an exciting, totally riveting movie, To Walk With Lions is a poignant tribute to a dedicated man and his protégé, based on the life stories of George Adamson and Tony Fitzjohn. Minimal violence and one or two upsetting scenes.

To Walk With Lions also features: Frederic Opondo as David M'Boya; David Kakuta Mulwa as Hamisi; and Steenie Njoroge as Bitacha. Music is Composed by Alan Reeves; Director of Photography is Jean Lepine; Written by Sharon Buckingham and Keith Ross Leckie; Produced by Pieter Kroonenburg and Julie Allan; and Directed by A Carl Schultz.

* An inspiring and powerful true story, To Walk With Lions (the acclaimed follow-up to Born Free) is about renowned animal conservationist and lion expert George Adamson and is released for the first time in widescreen format on DVD, courtesy of Second Sight Films, on 28 January 2013. Running Time: 106 Minutes | RRP: £15.99 | Catalogue Number: 2NDVD3216.

"Sensitively created, beautifully filmed, inspirational and an exciting, totally riveting movie, To Walk With Lions is a poignant tribute to a dedicated man and his protégé" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar

"Faultless, inspiring, highly recommended" — Film Review