Stars unite for London premiere of Rwandan cycling film Rising From Ashes
Chrissie Wellington lends support to film, which charts the story of Team Rwanda, the country's national cycling squad
Clive Owen, Goodwill Ambassador for the Aegis Trust for genocide prevention, has lent his support to the charity London premiere of the award-winning documentary Rising from Ashes.
The film, narrated by fellow Hollywood legend Forest Whitaker, tells the story of a group of Rwandan genocide survivors overcoming adversity and poverty to set up Team Rwanda, their country’s national cycling squad, and of the attempt of one of them, Adrien Niyonshuti, to compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
With the help of Jock Boyer, the first American to ride the Tour de France and a man with his own dark past to overcome, Adrien and his colleagues – who, in other circumstances, might have been mortal enemies – come together to forge bright, new futures through cycling.
“It’s a truly extraordinary story; one that deserves the largest possible audience,” Owen said. “So often when people think of Rwanda, they just think ‘genocide’. Yes, that legacy is very real, but so is the courage of an amazing new generation of Rwandans finding ways to overcome that and work together. Team Rwanda, in Rising from Ashes, exemplifies that spirit.”
This heart-wrenching yet exceptionally uplifting and inspiring documentary is a shining example of how sport can empower, heal and reconcile.
“Rwanda is a country that has undergone catastrophe during the genocide,” Niyonshuti said. “It is changing its future, and I believe that when people see what we are doing, they’ll change their minds from what they thought of Rwanda.”
Also lending their support on the night will be Olympic track cycling gold medallist Philip Hindes MBE, UCI president Pat McQuaid, and four-times Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington.
With the production covering three continents over six years, Rising from Ashes has been an epic undertaking for its director, T.C. Johnstone, Project Rwanda and the production team at Gratis 7 Media Group. Since its release it has won seven awards in the US and the Caribbean.
The London premiere will take place at 7pm on Thursday 9 May at the Odeon Leicester Square. All proceeds from the event will go to support both Team Rwanda and the Aegis Trust.
The event will begin with a champagne reception, and, after the film, a question and answer session T.C. Johnstone, Adrien Niyonshuti and other members of Team Rwanda.
Tickets for the film premiere are on sale at http://risingfromasheslondon.eventbrite.co.uk, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.
Liz Barrett
220 Deputy Editor 
