Director:
Davey Frankel
Rasselas Lakew
Run Time: 93 minutes
Country: ETHIOPIA, USA
Year: 2009
Davey Frankel
Rasselas Lakew
Run Time: 93 minutes
Country: ETHIOPIA, USA
Year: 2009
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The Athlete (Atletu)
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Abebe Bikila is on a journey, traversing the great nation of Ethiopia in his Volkswagen Beetle. He is THE ATHLETE – the heroic winner of two Olympic gold medals for marathon running (1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo). Of strong character and superhuman endurance, Bikila spent his youth running on Ethiopia’s Abyssinian plateau, following Mussolini’s takeover. His 1960 victory in Rome was doubly sensational – not only was it the first gold medal won by an African athlete, but also he ran the marathon barefoot. After Ethiopians had suffered so much under the Italians, his triumph at the Coliseum caused jubilation. But now, in 1969, Bikila loses concentration and crashes his car. Tragically, the accident leaves him a paraplegic. Still, his perseverance never wanes and he soldiers on to compete internationally as an archer and a dog-sled musher. Abebe Bikila’s quiet dignity became a symbol of hope for a continent struggling for self-determination. The saying goes: "It took 500,000 Italian soldiers to occupy Ethiopia, but just one Ethiopian soldier to conquer Rome." (In English and Amharic with subtitles) – B.B.
This film is presented with the generous support of DR. BRIAN KIRKLAND.
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Community Partner
| Sidebars | Standing Up Competition, Pan-African Images |
| Producer | Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew, Darryn Welch |
| Screenplay | Rasselas Lakew, Davey Frankel, Mikael Awake |
| Cinematography | Rodney Taylor, Toby Moore, Philip Pfeiffer, Radoslav Spassov |
| Editing | Davey Frankel, Matt Mayer |
| Principal Cast | Rasselas Lakew, Dag Malmberg, Ruta Gedmintas, Abba Dessalegn |
| Director Bio | Rasselas Lakew is an Ethiopian-American who attended Montana State University film school in the early 90s and is now a New York City-based filmmaker. He plays the role of Abebe Bikila. Davey Frankel is an American filmmaker and audiovisual artist based in Berlin. His work in film and music has been shown in museums, film festivals, and concert halls worldwide. |
| Select Filmography | THE ATHLETE (2009) |
| Print Source |
El Atleta LLC Rass1969@gmail.com www.theathletefilm.com |
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Past Screenings
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 5:00 PMFriday, March 26, 2010 at 9:45 PM
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