Rising Phoenix

The documentary tells the story of the Paralympic Games on two tracks. On one side is history: the neurologist Ludwig Guttmann, treating soldiers who came back from the Second World War with spinal injuries, organised a sports competition at Stoke Mandeville hospital, and what is now the third largest sporting event in the world grew out of it. On the other are nine athletes, each telling their own story. The film is interested less in medals than in representation. The athletes keep returning to the same question: is the camera filming them as an inspiring story or as competitors. The section on the financial crisis before Rio 2016 makes it concrete; the games came close to being cancelled. Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui directed. The film features Bebe Vio of Italy, Matt Stutzman and Tatyana McFadden of the United States, Jonnie Peacock of Britain, Ellie Cole and Ryley Batt of Australia, Jean-Baptiste Alaize of France, Cui Zhe of China and Ntando Mahlangu of South Africa. It went out on Netflix on 26 August 2020, a year before the Tokyo Paralympics. Who it is for: anyone who likes sports documentary and the argument about disability. Who it is not for: anyone wanting critical depth. The film stands close to the Paralympic Committee's official account, there is not enough time for nine stories, and the visual manner is showy in places.