''The Athlete'' ( am, እትሌቱ, ''Atletu'') is a 2009 Ethiopian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew. The film was selected as the Ethiopian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles b ...

, but it did not make the final shortlist. It was the first Ethiopian film to be submitted in the category for Best Foreign Language Film. The film has been reviewed in an international journal.Aboneh Ashagrie. 2013. The Athlete: a movie about the Ethiopian barefooted Olympic champion. ''Journal of African Cultural Studies'' Vol. 25, No. 1, 119–121. A mixture of fiction and stock footage, ''The Athlete'' is a portrait of the marathon runner from Ethiopia,

Abebe Bikila ''Shambel'' Abebe Bikila ( am, ሻምበል አበበ ቢቂላ; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winnin ...

. In 1960, he participated in the

Rome Olympic Games The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

as a complete unknown. However, the son of a shepherd ran barefoot and won the gold medal. Four years later, he repeated his feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first man to win the Olympic marathon twice in a row. A few years later, he suffered a car accident and lost the use of his legs. He died four years later.

Cast

* Rasselas Lakew as

Dag Malmberg Dag Åke Sigvard Malmberg (born 18 January 1953) is a Swedish actor and director, best known internationally for his role as Hans Petterson in '' The Bridge''. Biography Dag Malmberg was born January 18 1953 in Gävle, Sweden. Malmberg studi ...

as Onni *

Ruta Gedmintas Ruta Gedmintas ( lt, Rūta Gedmintas; ) is a British actress known for her work on television, primarily in '' The Strain'', '' Spooks: Code 9'', '' The Borgias'', ''The Tudors'', ''Lip Service'' and ''His Dark Materials''. Early life Gedminta ...

as Charlotte * Abba Waka Dessalegn as The Priest

References

External links

* * * 2009 films 2009 drama films 2009 biographical drama films Amharic-language films Oromo-language films English-language Ethiopian films Running films Films about the 1960 Summer Olympics Films about the 1964 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films shot in Bulgaria Films shot in Norway Films set in 1969 Films set in Ethiopia Biographical films about sportspeople Cultural depictions of Ethiopian people Cultural depictions of track and field athletes {{Ethiopia-film-stub

Cast

See also

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