Town of Runners
- 2012
- Ethiopia/UK
- 1h 28min
- PG
- Directed by: Jerry Rothwell
- UK release: 20 April 2012
A pretty and thoughtful documentary about the tiny town of Bekoji in Ethiopia, which has produced an astonishing number of champion long-distance runners. Frustratingly, it hedges its bets as to whether it’s about Africa’s situation or just the hard knocks dealt by a sporting life, but what's singularly impressive is the interview footage with the young trainee runners, which achieves intimacy without condescension, and captures both heartrending hopefulness and sad self-delusion.
70%
92%
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Reviews & features
Town of Runners
23 Apr 2012
Touching but hesitant documentary about an Ethiopian town's knack for producing athletes
The tiny town of Bekoji in Ethiopia has produced an astonishing number of champion long-distance runners. Jerry Rothwell’s pretty and thoughtful documentary frustratingly resists analysing exactly why this is – we’re left to guess at a lucky combination…
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