New heartwarming documentary features real-life heroes who have overcome obstacles to emerge as transformed individuals, told through a series of dynamic and authentic stories that inspire hope.

Energi Founder and President of Catilize Health, Craig Lack has signed on as a Producer on the new documentary film, Hero, from Emmy® Award-winning film production studio DNA Films and Abundance Studios™. Directed by 22-time Emmy® Award winner Nick Nanton (Dickie V on Disney+, The Rebound (Netflix), Operation Toussaint, Rudy Ruettiger: The Walk On on Amazon) and produced by author, writer, director, actor and former Navy Seal, Remi Adeleke (Plane, Special Forces Fox), aims to motivate audiences with stories of perseverance, hope, and courage in the face of adversity. The film is currently in post-production.

Hero explores one of the most fascinating aspects of a hero’s journey, which is its universality. This narrative archetype of the ‘hero’s journey’ was first coined by mythology expert Joseph Campbell and found in stories ranging from The Odyssey to Harry Potter. That narrative starts with a hero going on an adventure, learning a lesson, achieving a victory, and then returning home as a transformed person. This reiterates that there is something deeply resonant about the story of a hero’s transformation that speaks to people across space and time.

The documentary features the journeys of Plane actor and Special Forces Fox host Remi Adeleke who will also serve as a Producer, deaf singer/songwriter and America’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Mandy Harvey, UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Laura Penhaul, who led the first all-female crew to row the Pacific Ocean.

“Since getting out of the military, storytelling, whether through books, tv or film has become my greatest passion. And, as a storyteller, I’ve utilized the hero’s journey many times so it’s been ‘cool’ to be able to examine that process through the lens of actual people,” said Adeleke.

While many view heroes as extraordinary individuals with superhuman abilities, Campbell believed we are all the heroes of our own stories. The key is simply tapping into your innate potential. Through interviews with these featured heroes, the film will provide a blueprint for crafting your hero’s journey of personal transformation and ultimately creating the life you imagine.

To become the hero of your own story, you must script it, you must narrate it, and you must produce it. What that means on a practical level will be explored by experts in the fields of personal development, motivation, Future Self science, and more.

“What I love about this topic is that none of the four featured people in the film would call themselves heroes, which is the whole point,” said Nanton. “I am making this film for everyone from kids to adults at any stage of their lives from all corners of the globe, to help them see how they can become the heroes of their own journeys and live fulfilled lives of success and significance.”

The documentary reunites Nanton, and Emmy® Award-winning producer, Giovanni Marsico, who worked together on Dreamer, which focused on entrepreneurs who never gave up on their dreams even when the world told them it couldn’t be done.

Nanton is a 22-time Emmy Award-winning director, and producer, author, and branding agency executive who has won multiple awards for his work since 2005 and been nominated for 36. Having directed over 60 documentary films, from the slums of Port-au-Prince Haiti with special forces raiding a sex trafficking ring and freeing young girls to the Virgin Galactic SpacePort in Mojave with Sir Richard Branson, Nanton has become known for telling stories that connect. The Emmy wins are just the latest in a long line of accolades for Nanton, who has produced film and television projects including the recently released Disney+ documentary Dickie V about Dick Vitale, created a series In Case You Didn’t Know with Nick Nanton for Prime Video, co-founded DNA Films, and wrote several successful books including Story Selling.

“Nick Nanton is America’s Biographer. He is the voice of a new generation.” – Larry King.

Adeleke became a prolific figure in the industry in all aspects of entertainment, including; consulting, directing, writing, and acting, including the 2017 franchise film, Transformers: The Last Knight, SEAL Team CBS, the Universal thriller directed by Michael Bay, Ambulance, and Amazon’s hit series Terminal List.

Adeleke’s upcoming projects include the action-thriller, Unexpected Redemption which he wrote and is set to direct later this year, with Alan Siegel, Gary Burkhard, and Gerard Butler’s G-BASE producing, alongside Al Munteanu of Square One Productions and Mike Gabrawy. His latest espionage thriller series, “Chameleon: A Black Box Thriller,” is set to be released through HarperCollins William Morrow on July 25, 2023.

Adeleke is repped by APA, The Talbot Fortune Literary Agency, Loeb & Loeb and Lon Haber & Co.

About Abundance Studios™

Abundance Studios™ is a film studio dedicated to fostering a world of abundant thinking and abundant action. The producer collective is comprised of entrepreneurs, professionals, and philanthropists dedicated to earning, learning, and serving through media. The goal of the studio is to find, film, and share heartening and inspirational stories that will help to uplift the world. Film and storytelling have the power to create immensely positive change in the world, and Abundance Studios™ wants to facilitate that change for the betterment of mankind.

About the Production Team:

Emmy® Award Winning Director and Producer Nick Nanton is producing the film alongside Emmy® Award Winning Producers Nick Ruff and Katie Tschopp along with Producers, Peter D’Arruda, Chuck McDowell, Craig Lack, Didi Wong, Chris Wiser, Julie Meates, Fred Rouse, Jennifer Perri, Kevin Hodes, Richard Tyler, Daniel Mangena, Dr. Wayne Pernell, Perminder Chohan, Michael Reza, Gary Marriage, Giovanni Marsico, George McCranie, and Charlie Epstein.