Sovereign and Nile Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Chee Keong Cheung’s acclaimed thriller Son of the Soil from genre studio Action Xtreme, in select UK cinemas on 5th December 2025.

Son of the Soil is directed by British-Chinese filmmaker Chee Keong Cheung (Redcon-1), and stars British Nigerian actor Razaaq Adoti (Black Hawk Down), who also wrote the script; with Patience Ozokwo (Everybody Loves Jenifa), Iretiola Doyle (Tinsel), Sunshine Rosman (Netflix’s To Kill a Monkey), Taye Arimoro (Deadline for Love), Emeka Golden (Say Who Die) and Sharon Rotimi (The Yard) also starring. The film - shot on location in Nigeria - brings a contemporary African action story to the British big screen with a cast that blends rising talent and industry veterans.

Winner of three awards at the 2025 Black Star International Film Festival, in Ghana (Best Director, Overall Best Film and Best International Showcase), the Action Xtreme film and Nollywood game-changer also garnered the coveted Audience Choice Award at The African International Film Festival, plus seven nominations at the upcoming Best of Nollywood Awards.

The film - described by Nollywire as "Nollywood's most ambitious action film yet” - features a breakout role for leading man Adoti, and captures the vibrant, edgy feel of the country's criminal underworld. Gritty, violent and propulsive, with standout action set pieces, Son of the Soil has the adrenaline fuelled urgency of Blood Diamond and Man on Fire keyed into a tense Taken style revenge plot.

After an extremely well received cinema release in Nigeria, the film was hailed as a ‘Nollywood game-changer’ that revitalised the Nigerian action movie industry. Now UK audiences will get a chance to experience this audacious UK/Nigerian co-production on the big screen and realise that gripping action cinema doesn’t always have to come from US film studios.

SYNOPSIS
Zion Ladejo, a former Nigerian Special Ops paratrooper, has built a quiet life in exile after a mission gone wrong. Everything shifts when news of his sister’s sudden death drags him back home to a Nigeria battling drugs, corruption and organised crime.

SON OF THE SOIL is presented by Action Xtreme and Sovereign Films in association with Boxonia Blueprint

SON OF THE SOIL: FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Son of the Soil won Best Director, Overall Best Film and Best International Showcase at the 2025 Black Star International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award at The African International Film Festival, and has received seven nominations at the upcoming Best of Nollywood Awards.

ABOUT ACTION XTREME
Action Xtreme, headed by award-winning director, writer and producer Chee Keong Cheung, is the genre division of UK-based entertainment company Sovereign, with a focus on action content. Action Xtreme is the first major action studio in the UK, a global entertainment company with a targeted focus on grassroots talent growth, development & training, and a remit to develop franchisable film, TV and online action content for a worldwide audience.

Action Xtreme are currently in post-production on the sci-fi action horror The Experiment, starring Rhona Mitra (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) and Famke Janssen (X-Men); and POV action thriller Bad Day at the Office, starring John Hannah (The Mummy), and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill). Both films are due for release in 2026.

ABOUT SOVEREIGN
Sovereign releases auteur-driven feature films in the UK, from emerging and established international talent. Our carefully curated titles have played to strong critical and audience acclaim, often premiering at renowned international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlinale, Toronto, Venice and many more.

Previously acquired or produced titles include Memoria from Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, starring Tilda Swinton, which won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2021; Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, starring Woody Harrelson, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival; Francisca Alegría’s The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival; Radu Jude’s satires Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn, Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World and Kontinental ‘25; Viggo Mortensen western Eureka; the extraordinary documentary A Wolfpack Named Ernesto; and the powerful, award-winning Red Path.

ABOUT NILE ENTERTAINMENT
Nile Entertainment is the distribution and production arm of Nile Media Entertainment Group, driving the growth of African cinema through innovative release strategies, partnerships and tech-powered exhibitions. A top tier African distributor with reach across more than 28 countries and 5 continents, their portfolio includes record breaking and globally travelled titles such as Funke Akindele’s Everybody Loves Jenifa, AY Makun’s The Waiter, RMD’s Radio Voice, Nora Awolowo’s Red Circle and Omoni Oboli’s The Uprising: Wives on Strike 3.

ABOUT BOXONIA BLUEPRINT
As a film and video production powerhouse, Boxonia Blueprint is committed to creating deeply rooted, immersive experiences. The company’s mission is clear: to craft audacious, authentic, and exportable African stories through cinema and other forms of media. With a keen focus on storytelling that resonates across demographics, Boxonia aspires to achieve both cultural impact and commercial success. Boxonia’s core values—ambition, audacity, creativity, innovation, and transparency—have propelled it to become one of the fastest-growing production companies in Africa. Beyond its storytelling expertise, the company operates as a comprehensive hub for film production, offering services such as story development, scripting, intellectual property protection, end-to-end production, marketing, talent management, licensing, and consultancy. Whether it’s working with international collaborators or shaping homegrown narratives, Boxonia Blueprint continues to define itself as a trailblazer in African cinema.