Portal:African cinema/Selected film/47
The Athlete (Amharic: እትሌቱ, Atletu) is a 2009 Ethiopian drama film about Abebe Bikila (1932-1973) the Ethiopian marathon runner and first African to win a gold medal. In 1960, he participated in the Rome Olympic Games as a complete unknown and won the gold medal running barefoot. He became an overnight global sensation and set the stage for Ethiopia's legacy in long distance running. Four years later, he repeated his feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first man to win the Olympic marathon twice in a row. In both victories, he ran in world record time. In 1969 he was in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. He died four years later.
Ethiopian-born Rasselas Lakew starred as Bikila, winning the Best Actor award at the 2011 Brooklyn Film FestivalHe also co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the film which blends biopic, drama and archival footage. Its awards include The Lions Award for Best Film in The Bright Future section of the Rotterdam Film Festival and in 2010, The Athlete became the first-ever Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.