The Athlete

Ethiopia

Unusual film. Mix of re-enactment, dramatization and archival footage...all blended into a seamless portrait of the life, trials and times of Ethiopia's preeminent athlete - Abebe Bikila .

He won the gold in the marathon at the 1960 and 1964 olympics...the first athlete from Africa to do so. He became a national hero and was made a member of the imperial guard of aging Haile Selassie, a largely ceremonial post which provided him with a car and the ability to travel as an ambassador w/o portfolio. He then was paralyzed in a car accident and went on to compete in a national dogsled race in Norway!

The film was lovingly crafted and quite moving. A tribute film to an extraordinary man forgotten in the West.

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