Recent reviews

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  Review by Edward Frost ★★★

  With the London 2012 Olympics looming ever closer, Jerry Rothwell’s documentary Town of Runners serves as a timely reminder of how dedicated and determined the athletes who compete need to be in order to represent their individual countries. Taking the rural Ethiopian town of Bekoji as its subject, itself the home of the current Olympic and World Champions Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele, Rothwell’s film parts with the usually clichéd approach to depicting a poverty-stricken country and instead opts for an upbeat, if a little slight, tenor that is both light-hearted and refreshing.

  Following Alemi Tsegaye and her friend Hawii Megersa, two determined teenage athletes driven to succeed by their ruthless, but good-natured, coach Sentayehu Eshetu, Town of Runners acts…

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  Review by Simon Kinnear ★★★½

  Ethiopian village Bekoji has produced more Olympic medallists than most countries. Jerry Rothwell’s sunny if slight doc tracks Bekoji’s latest hopefuls, teenage girls Alemi and Hawii, to learn why.

  Full Review: www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/town-of-runners