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There is no action required from Waad Al-Kateab, the citizen-journalist who is now an Oscar-nominated director for For Sama, to make her newest documentary more impactful. The determination and fortitude of the athletes she captures on film as they compete for the Refugee Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will tug at your heart and leave a lasting impression. The team was initially formed during the Rio Games in 2016 in response to the refugee crisis, providing athletes with a scholarship for living expenses and training, as well as a flag to represent their team during competition.
And what a team they are. Kimia Alizadeh Zonoozi was 18 when she became Iran’s first female summer Olympic medallist, winning a bronze in Taekwondo at Rio. But she couldn’t bear to keep parroting the propaganda she was ordered to spew by the state: that men and women are equal in Iran, that black is white. She now lives in Germany. Unbelievably, her first opponent in Tokyo is her best friend and former teammate, Iran’s Nahid Kiani Chandeh.
One of the individuals featured is Cyrille Tchatchet, a weightlifter known for his calm demeanor and impressive leg muscles. In 2014, he left the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow due to concerns for his safety in his home country of Cameroon. He spent two months living on the streets in Brighton and even contemplated suicide before seeing a Samaritans poster and calling for help. Two police cars arrived and were able to talk him down from the edge of a cliff. The documentary also introduces us to other athletes, including Saeid Fazloula, a canoeist originally from Iran, Wael Fawaz Al-Farraj, a Taekwondo athlete and Syrian refugee, and Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, a runner from South Sudan. Each of these individuals has faced unimaginable trauma and disruptions to their training, yet they have still achieved success in elite sports.
This movie serves as a strong remedy against the belief that refugees only deplete resources. For example, Cyrille, who was granted asylum in the UK, became a mental health nurse. He explains, “I felt a responsibility to contribute to my community.” During the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, he proudly carried the Olympic flag alongside other athletes who had also helped their countries during the pandemic. What a remarkable hero.
Source: theguardian.com
