Project Detail

The Runner

Synopsis

The Runner is a film about endurance. It is the story of Salah Ameidan, a champion runner from Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, whose journey transformed him from an athlete into the symbol of a national liberation movement. 

Forced to join Morocco's Junior Athletics team at 14, he was soon an international champion. But while he won gold medals for Morocco, he and his family were being arrested, detained and tortured in prison by Morocco for their independence activism.

In 2003, as he won a crucial race in France, he pulled out the Sahrawi flag - illegal in Morocco. He immediately became both a refugee and a hero to his people. Even in France, he suffers attacks, and his family are harassed, detained, tortured and even killed by the Moroccan regime.

The Runner follows Salah over three critical years in his life. As he turns 30, the Arab Spring is born in a protest camp in Western Sahara. The film looks at the burden of being a hero and asks "How long, before you stop running"?

Details

Year
2012
Type of project
Features
Running time
93 min
Format
XDCAM EX
Director
Saeed Taji Farouky 1st Feature
Producer
Elhum Shakerifar
Co-Producer
Estelle Robin You, Rachel Lysaght
Executive Producer
Mike Chamberlain
Editor
Emiliano Battista
Director of Photography
Saeed Taji Farouky
Sound
Joe Lewis
Composer
Joe Lewis
Associate Producer
Patricia Tobin Kubal
Production Manager (UK)
Marie-Thérèse Garvey
Production Manager (France)
Emmanuelle Jacq
Additional camera
Toufique Ali, Afshin Dehkordi, Marie-Thérèse Garvey, Farhad Mirza, Elhum Shakerifar, Jo Metson Scott, Hikaru Toda
Additional Editing
Gareth Keogh
Location Sound
Brendan Butler, Joe Lewis
Additional Location Sound
Marie Frison, Elhum Shakerifar
Stills Photographer
Jo Metson Scott
Archive and Research Assistant
Sarah Saey
Translations
Nora Allali, Dominic Bennett, Sarra Elatanabi, Juliette Hargreave, Mohamed Sulaiman Labat, Clémence Sebag, Benedict Stainer
Online
Peter Appleyard
Colourist
Mat Troughton
Dubbing Mixer
Joe Lewis

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

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