| The Athlete | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Davey Frankel Rasselas Lakew |
| Written by | Davey Frankel Rasselas Lakew Mikael Aemiro Awake |
| Produced by | Davey Frankel Rasselas Lakew |
| Starring | Rasselas Lakew |
| Edited by | Davey Frankel |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Languages | Amharic, English, Oromo, Norwegian |
The Athlete (Amharic: እትሌቱ, Atletu) is a 2009 Ethiopian drama film directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew. The film was selected as the Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards,[1] but it did not make the final shortlist.[2] It was the first Ethiopian film to be submitted in the category for Best Foreign Language Film.[3] The film has been reviewed in an international journal.[4]
A mixture of fiction and stock footage, The Athlete is a portrait of the marathon runner from Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila. In 1960, he participated in the Rome Olympic Games as a complete unknown. However, the son of a shepherd ran barefoot and won the gold medal. 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. A few years later, he suffered a car accident and lost the use of his legs. He died four years later.
Cast[edit]
- Rasselas Lakew as Abebe Bikila
- Dag Malmberg as Onni
- Ruta Gedmintas as Charlotte
- Abba Waka Dessalegn as The Priest
See also[edit]
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Ethiopian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon
References[edit]
- ^ "2010-2011 Foreign Language Film Award Screening Schedule". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". oscars.org. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "65 Countries Enter Race for 2010 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Oscars.org. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^ Aboneh Ashagrie. 2013. The Athlete: a movie about the Ethiopian barefooted Olympic champion. Journal of African Cultural Studies Vol. 25, No. 1, 119–121.
External links[edit]
- Atletu at IMDb
- Official website
- African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT (license CC BY-SA-3.0)
