Rising from Ashes (T.C. Johnstone 2012:)USA, Rwanda, UK, South Africa

Reviewed by Steve Mccomb

T.C. Johnstone’s Rising from Ashes was one of my favorite films of the festival.   Narrated by Forrest Whitaker, the film covers six years in the lives of a Rwanda  cycling team.  A moving and touching story about 5 young Rwanda athletes and there lives.

The film tells the story of a famous cycling star named Jock who had lost everything and served some time in jail. He is given the opportunity to come to Rwanda and start a cycling team. When he begins this adventure he has no idea how  his life and the lives of each rider will change. The riders are all survivors of a brutal time in Rwandan history. Each member of the team has their own personal horror story from growing up during the civil war.

This film is about  redemption.  Jock learns to love the team and serve them with loyalty and they in turn begin to love him and trust him too.The team also learns to trust and love  each other.

The scenes of Rwanda are extremely vibrant, colorful and beautiful. The soundtrack was very good, kept a nice pace, and had an uplifting and inspiring effect.

The film ends when a talented member of the team makes it into the London Olympics, rising from the ashes of war torn Rwanda and personal devastation to the 2012 Summer Olympics and the joy and excitement of success.

I absolutely LOVED this movie, it was well done, and very inspiring.