Running Movie

Boston

February 2017 •English

The history of the Boston Marathon from its humble origins starting with only 15 runners, to the first female runners, through the tragedy in 2013, and ultimately the triumph of 2014.

African Spirit

September 2009 •English

A celebration of the diversity of Ethiopia's culture and wildlife. It journeys from North to South - spanning mountains, rainforests and the hottest place on Earth. It documents Muslims mixing with Christians as they have for over a millennia and the 'honey people' of the forest, filmed here for the first time. Visually stunning and unsentimental, this is Ethiopia as you've never seen it before.

Lorena: Light-Footed Woman

November 2019 •Spanish

A young woman of the Tarahumara, well-known for their extraordinary long distance running abilities, wins ultramarathons seemingly out of nowhere despite running in sandals.

Breaking2

September 2017 •English

After six months of scientifically advanced training, three of the world's most elite distance runners set out to break the two-hour marathon barrier. These pioneers go on a global trek to defy the unthinkable and break the two-hour feat, from testing in wind tunnels and running labs in the United States, to balancing training with their day-to- day lives in eastern Africa, to the final heart-pounding race in Italy.

Marathon

January 1965 •English

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.

Kipchoge: The Last Milestone

July 2021 •English

Kipchoge: The Last Milestone follows record-breaking marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge's journey to becoming the first person in history to run a marathon in under two hours.

Age Group Winner

May 2025 •English

In 1980 Jay Helgerson shocked the world, becoming the first person to run a marathon a week for a year – each race completed in under three hours. For the last ten years, his daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Helgerson, followed him with a camera in order to understand the eccentric man who raised her. What she gets are his projected anxieties, his struggles with physical age and emotional distress, all while he endlessly trains for the Boston Marathon. But as Jay trains, the film is nearly derailed by Alexandra’s encounter with a life threatening illness. Ultimately, AGE GROUP WINNER is an affirmation of the will to live.

Once is Enough

May 2020 •English

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.

How to Become a Hero

September 2008 •Serbian

Mladen Maticevic is a 40 year old Serbian film director. In the summer of 2005, he decided to try and run the full marathon race on the next Belgrade Marathon, in the spring of 2006. This film depicts his struggle to train, lose weight, learn the tactics and eventually win the race. His family doubts that such feat is possible while friends both encourage him and discourage him to pull it off. Suddenly the whole marathon run becomes a metaphor for everyday struggles in post-Communist Belgrade.

Into the Inferno

September 2016 •English

With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

October 2014 •English

In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.

Project Iceman

October 2022 •Danish

~ 3.9 km Swim ~ 180 km Bike ~ 42.2 km Run ~ The impossible journey to complete the first ever long-distance triathlon in Antarctica, The Iceman. To prove that limitations are perceptions.

Stray Dawg

April 2011 •English

Meet Jonny Corndawg, the underground country-music legend. A born-and-bred Virginian, Jonny has played on five continents in as many years, and every state in the lower 48. Now Jonny has given himself over, heart and heel, to the world of Running. Jonny let us follow him on a tour down the California coast as he braved injury and isolation on his quest to complete the Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA.

Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man for Sport Relief

March 2016 •English

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?

A Walk to Beautiful

May 2007 •English

"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.

Reach Your Limits

February 2015 •Bulgarian

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.

Dukas Dilemma

July 2002 •German

Negotiating Amnesia

November 2015 •English

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.

Chasing 100

January 2025 •English

Cameron Balser had just returned home from his 12,000 mile run around the perimeter of the United States. His home town running group, Meshingomesia Track Club, was hosting their annual last man standing/back yard ultra, "Prairie On Fire." Prairie on Fire was going into their 3rd year as a race and they had yet to have anyone reach 100 miles. Cameron, who had won the race in 2023, was still recovering from his epic run, but, had made a promise to come back in 2024 to help achieve that milestone.

El Ouafi Boughera, The marathon runner of history

November 2018 •

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.