35th cleveland international film festival :: march 24 - april 3, 2011
The Athlete
Director:
Rasselas Lakew
Davey Frankel

Run Time: 93 minutes

Country: ETHIOPIA, USA
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The Athlete (Atletu)

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.
Community Partner
Karamu
Category Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film 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 PM
Friday, March 26, 2010 at 9:45 PM