Atletu is a portrait of the legendary Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who won Olympic gold in Rome in 1960 as a complete outsider. From one moment to the next he became a sporting legend. Much less well known is that later in life he became paralysed in both legs after a car crash – his determination then took him to different sports and continents. This film is striking in more than one respect. Firstly in its production: a low-budget independent film financed in several countries and shot from the North Pole to the equator. But also because of the chosen film form: biopic, personal biography, international travel log, drama and documentary all in one. The result is beautifully photographed and has a touching role for Rasselas Lakew, also co-director of the film, and outstanding archive footage.
Film details
Productielanden
Ethiopia, Germany, USA
Jaar
2009
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2010
Lengte
89'
Medium/Formaat
HDcam
Taal
Amharic, English
Première status
None
Director
Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew
Producer
Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew, Darryn Welch
Cinematography
Radoslav Spassov, Philipp Pfeiffer, Rodney Taylor, Toby Moore
Screenplay
Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew, Mikael Amerio Awake