Town of Runners is a feature documentary about young runners from the Ethiopian rural town of Bekoji, home to the current Olympic and World Champions Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele. The film follows three children as they move from school track to national competition and from childhood to adulthood.
In an Olympic year, here’s an inspirational reminder of what it’s all about.
So much more than a documentary about Olympic runners, Town of Runners is an introspective eulogy to a way of life.
Fantastically cool.
This is a valuable insight into the roots of the sport.
An interesting if slightly limited corrective to sanctimonious Olympics hype.
There’s nothing particularly revelatory here, but British director Jerry Rothwell manages to tell an inspiring story without the sentiment or grandstanding that can ruin a lot of sports documentaries.
An eye-opener of a documentary, both about the sporting life of others and a rapidly-changing Africa.
“Running is a way of life here,” says one of the coaches, and that’s about as satisfying an insight as this documentary provides.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday June 1, 2012, until Thursday June 7, 2012. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Monday July 16, 2012, until Wednesday July 18, 2012. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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