1. Adwa (አድዋ)
In 1896, Ethiopia, an African nation, largely armed with spears and knives, defeats a well-equipped and organized Italian military bent on colonization.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
2. Once is Enough
After losing his mother to obesity, a thirty-two year old chubby ginger comedian and vegan son-of-a-pig-farmer sets out to avoid the same fate by running one hundred miles through the mountains of Colorado in one of the world's most difficult ultra trail marathons...and lives to tell jokes about it.
It has an average vote of 5.3 on TMDB.
3. Marathon
Started as a class project in what was likely the first filmmaking course ever taught at Harvard, Marathon documents the running of the 1964 Boston Marathon.
4. Eilish McColgan: Running in the Family
Eilish McColgan is running in the footsteps of her mother, Liz. This documentary shares their extraordinary journeys as Eilish tries to break her mum's final record - the marathon.
5. El Ouafi Boughera, The marathon runner of history (El Ouafi Boughera, Le marathonien de L'histoire)
On August 5, 1928, after 2 hours and 32 minutes of racing, the 71st rooster wearing the bib entered the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. Ahmed El Ouafi Bouguéra wins the gold medal and becomes the first Olympic champion from the African continent. He achieved his feat under the tricolor flag. The start of his real marathon is underway. The history of sport extends to the history of Algeria and France. This documentary retraces the different stages of the life of this great champion, not only the history of sport but also the great story. Archival photographs and interviews mingle with the painted paintings. The series thus once again gives voice to this forgotten hero, one of the great heroes of immigration who defended France for more than a century.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
6. I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine
An intimate look inside the immigrant community in Portland, Maine, as told by Nyamuon Nguany Machar who arrived as refugee in 1995 and David Zwalita Mota who came as an asylum seeker in 2019.
7. São Silvestre (São Silvestre)
The São Silvestre Road Race is a famous long-distance running event held yearly in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, on December 31st. The movie recreates the experience of running the race in 2011.
It has an average vote of 7.1 on TMDB.
8. Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man for Sport Relief
Eddie Izzard pushes her body and sense of humour to the limit for Sport Relief as she takes on an immense challenge - travelling to South Africa to run 27 marathons in 27 days to mark the 27 years that their hero Nelson Mandela spent in prison. It is a gruelling, uplifting and hilarious journey through baking heat, high roads and hospitals - but can Eddie make it to the final finish line?
9. Barkley 100
This short documentary tells the story of one of the world’s most difficult and bizarre sporting events: The Barkley Marathons. This 100-mile footrace and its 60-hour time limit force athletes to run, crawl and climb an elevation gain equivalent to two treks up Mt. Everest. In nearly thirty years, only fourteen runners, out of over one thousand participants, have finished The Barkley.
10. Reach Your Limits (Reach Your Limits)
One of the best Bulgarian mountain runners – Kiril Nikolov, known as Disl, attempted to set a new record – to run through the longest and legendary Bulgarian mountain route – 600 km from the mountain peak of Kom on the west border to cape Emine on the Black Sea coast, in less than 5 days. Through steep mountain paths, pouring rain, and sticky mud, the glorious adventure takes him beyond the barriers of his own consciousness, facing hidden fears, pain and exhaustion. Tо the point where he has to make a tough choice – to quit or to push his will to the ultimate challenge, beyond his own limitations.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
11. Do You Remember Me?
Sara from Zurich was circumcised as a little girl in Ethiopia. This event severely traumatized her. To find her inner peace, Sara decides to look for her circumciser.
12. Éthiopie, le mystère des mégalithes (Éthiopie, le mystère des mégalithes)
(Éthiopie, le mystère des mégalithes)
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
13. A Walk to Beautiful
"A Walk to Beautiful" tells the story of five women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, these women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage, and transformation.
It has an average vote of 6.1 on TMDB.
14. Days of Giants III (Dani divova III)
Our imperative is not an individual's victory - but a better community.. We do not want to overtake you - but to surpass ourselves.. Our results do not point out that we are better - but that you can do it as well.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
15. Breaking 7 (超越7分鐘)
In 2011, Alison Chow participated in the 38th Berlin Marathon. She finished the marathon in 2 hours 49 minutes and 57 seconds, 7 minutes slower than the Olympics entry requirement, thus the name of this documentary, Breaking 7. Alison gave up on her stable teaching job and left her comfort zone at the age of almost 30 just to follow her dream. She went through countless challenges with her coach, good friends and family, and was further inspired in life.
16. Walter Mittelholzer - Eine Schweizer Pioniergeschichte (Walter Mittelholzer - Eine Schweizer Pioniergeschichte)
(Walter Mittelholzer - Eine Schweizer Pioniergeschichte)
17. The Scientist of Sound
Thursday 27th of October 2016 – Teatro Espace, Turin. Mulatu Astatke is a musician, composer, arranger and Ethiopia’s cultural ambassador. He’s known as the godfather of ethiojazz, a unique blend of jazz, traditional Ethiopian music, latin, caribbean reggae and afrofunk. Born in 1943 in Jimma, Mulatu studied music not only in Ethiopia but also in UK and USA. In 2005 he contributed to the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s film “Broken Flowers”, reaching a new public worldwide.
18. Shepherds of the Earth
The region of Lake Turkana, located in Kenya and Ethiopia, is considered to be “the Cradle of Humankind”. Among other finds, primate fossils from millions of years ago have been discovered in the region. But what about the region’s modern inhabitants and their relationship to their environment? Iiris Härmä, whose previous work includes the award-winning Leaving Africa, had the chance of joining Helsinki University’s researchers, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares and Mar Cabeza, on their pre-pandemic trip to study the Daasanach people’s relationship to their environment through traditional animal tales. The researchers hope that storytelling would help to bridge the gap between people’s everyday lives and conservation efforts.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
19. Negotiating Amnesia
Negotiating Amnesia is an essay film based on research conducted at the Alinari Archive and the National Library in Florence. It focuses on the Ethiopian War of 1935-36 and the legacy of the fascist, imperial drive in Italy. Through interviews, archival images and the analysis of high-school textbooks employed in Italy since 1946, the film shifts through different historical and personal anecdotes, modes and technologies of representation.
20. mm 49: Vivian Fine Marathon!
"mm"s are m)m mostly held at the Who Unit? in Pittsburgh as a 21st century salon of sorts where formal interests can be broached casually. Attendees delight in sharing their sometimes obscure & sometimes popular musical loves. For mm 49 a marathon listening party celebrating the music of Vivian Fine was decided upon. Fine was a dedicated composer who produced a variety of work over a 70 year career. This movie, of course, is not an imitation of Ken Burns style documentary movie-making. Instead, I gleefully mix the casualness & lively uninhibited conversation of mms with the formal exactitude of Fine's music. I hope you enjoy it as an upstanding example of Punk Classical. "Bah to the Bourgeoisie"! Note that I'm starting to disappear in this movie - will you miss me when I'm gone? This is my 111th feature & my 404th movie.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
