Duma (2005)
adventure
directed
by : Carroll Ballard
featuring
: Alexander Michaletos - Eamonn Walker - Campbell Scott - Hope Davis
running
time : 1 hour 40 minutes
Carroll Ballard, director of The Black Stallion
and Never Cry Wolf, presents another story of an unusual relationship between
humans and animals in this drama. Xan (Alexander Michaletos) is a young
boy who lives with his father and mother (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis)
on a ranch in Kenya. One day, Xan and his folks discover a cheetah cub
whose mother has died. With no one to care for the cat, Xan and his family
take the cheetah under their wing, and after naming the cub "Dooms" (from
"Duma," which means "male cheetah cub" in Swahili), Xan and his new friend
become inseparable. However, Xan and his parents discover in time that
nature doesn't always have a happy ending planned for a little boy. Duma
was based on a book for children called How It Was With Dooms: A True Story
From Africa, by Carol Cawthra Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft, which told the
story of Xan's real-life friendship with a cheetah.