So, I was excited to see that one of my favorite bloggers had a new update. I figured it might be another one of his “High Posts” (which are exactly what they sound like) or another one of his Not-Quite-True True Stories (also exactly what they sound like). But, alas, I was wrong!
Instead, it was a post about how a project he had some early involvement in had not only taken off but had become a full-fledged production. The film, The Athlete, has won several awards and is now in the running as one of the top 65 films being considered for a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. That, in itself was exciting. But there’s more!
The film is a about world-wide sports legend, Abebe Bikila. The Ethiopian Marathon runner who was the first African Athlete to win an Olympic Gold and the first Athlete (Atletu) EVER to win twice in a row. And he did it… barefooted. Take that Glass Ceiling.
There is A LOT more to his story as an athlete than a lot of people know, and it seems that his life was certainly a story worth telling, and worth watching.
There’s a lovely kind of balance in the fact that not only did Bikila make history, but so has a film on his life. The film is the first Ethiopian film to ever be in the top films being considered for an Oscar. Fitting, no?
Watch the trailer below:
