...	(Director)
	...	(Writer)
Julia Bradbury	...	Herself - Narrator (voice)
Will Slater	...	Composer
Sophie Darlington	...	Cinematographer
Sue Gibson	...	Cinematographer
Ian Llewellyn	...	Cinematographer
Pete McCowen	...	Cinematographer
Pat McKeeman	...	Cinematographer
Tim Lasseter	...	Editor
Nyota	...	Lioness
Moja	...	Nyota's Cub
Ridge Pride	...
Acacia Pride	...
Paradise Pride	...
Tamu	...	Sidebar Lioness who lost a cub
Joy	...	Fled w/ 5 cubs

Comments: Delightful. It's not known why this particular mum and her 5 month old cub aren't with a pride, but because it's the BBC they can say "it usually happens when nomadic males attempt a take over of a pride and new mothers decide to leave with their cubs or let the new males kill them", and then show an example sidebar story that purports to be an example of that

The pair exist in the middle of a vast plain surrounded by potentially murderous prides, each of which gets a little screen time as an example of how their lives are different from our loners. In the end we get footage of The Great Migration because that's what everyone is waiting for: it will dump a big pile of meat on their table

So this is both a minor greatest hits piece (because the BBC has a boatload of great footage hanging around, some of which I've seen in others docs) and a very warming story of a little cub who has no idea what's going on. Lots of adorable shots of him hanging out on a rock waiting for his mum to come home from a hunt, hopefully a successful one. And lots of super adorable shots of mum and cub hanging out together in heartbreaking isolation. Since we don't know the backstory, we don't know if the cub started life with brothers and sisters, or has never known that life. Both would be sad

The cub is at the mercy of both rival predators or other lions who would kill him in a heartbeat if they came across him, and the fate of his mum. If she's killed or injured on a hunt, he's dead too

Great, real, soundtrack by Will Slater, and calm, relatively undramatic narration fill out the typically high production values expected from the BBC

Deducting half a star because, in typical BBC fashion, they sprinkle it with a few "our crew was concerned about ..." this or that and then they show someone jeeping in to get a shot. It's mostly unobtrusive and happens only a few times, but the choice changes the immersion factor


Summary: Documentary telling the story of Moja, a five-month-old lion cub living with his single lioness mum, Nyota, in Kenya's Masai Mara. It is May, and food is scarce; Moja is starving. The rains have arrived, and prey is thin on the ground. Without the help and protection of a pride, Moja faces the toughest month of his life. Moja's mum, Nyota, is his only hope. She must find enough food to keep them both alive and protect Moja from the hyenas and lions that surround them. Together, they face a fight for life.