Trailer
Plot summary
A cheetah cub is left orphaned when lions kill its mother, and Xan and his father Peter find it beside a road in South Africa. Peter is reluctant to keep a wild animal, but he agrees, and the cub is named Duma, the Swahili word for cheetah. Duma grows up as part of the household, close to Xan, and learns to run by chasing Peter's motorcycle. Peter says the cheetah must go back to the wild before he is too old to survive there. Peter falls ill, and Xan and his mother move to Johannesburg with Duma. Duma's presence causes trouble in the city, and the aunt is frightened of him. When Duma turns up at Xan's school, Xan decides they should leave and take Duma to the wild himself.
Cast
- Alex Michaeletosas Xan (as Alexander Michaletos)
- Mary Makhathoas Thandi
- Nthabiseng Kenoshias Lucille
- Charlotte Savageas Poetry Student
- Clive Scottas Tourist #3 - Eager Man
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Duma (2005)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Duma had tested badly and Warner Bros. planned not to release it theatrically in the United States, but Scott Foundas wrote a rave review in Variety that led the studio to reconsider, and it finally gave the film a limited release after producer John Wells agreed to pay part of the US marketing cost.
- Duma is played by six different cheetahs: five adults named Anthony, Azaro, Nikita, Sasha and Savannah, plus a cub, Sheba, all of them orphaned or poached animals that had been hand-raised in different parts of Africa.
- Duma was Carroll Ballard's final film before his retirement, and the only film role for its young lead, Alexander Michaletos.
- Duma made $870,067 at the North American box office and $124,723 in other territories, making its worldwide box office total $994,790.
