Films: Rising from Ashes

Rising from Ashes

USA, 2012, 82 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: African/Af. Amer, Coming of Age, Social Issues, Sports
Program: Documentary
Language: English, Kinyarwanda English Subtitles

DIRECTOR: T.C. Johnstone
Producer: Greg Kwedar, T.C. Johnstone
Editor: Elisa Bonora, T.C. Johnstone
Cinematographer: Jeffrey Waldron, Ryan Scheer, David Eggerichs, Jeremy Rodgers
Principal Cast: Forest Whitaker, Adrien Niyonshuti, Jock Boyer, Rafiki Uwimana, Nathan Byukusenge, Abraham Ruhumuriza

Director T.C. Johnstone’s feature-length documentary is about second chances. He tells the moving story of a team of passionate Rwandan cyclists who survived their country’s genocide, and of cycling legend Jock Boyer, who became their coach.


In 1994, access to a bicycle in Rwanda could mean the difference between life and death for those fleeing ethnic cleansing. For 100 straight days, members of the Hutu tribe slaughtered one member of the Tutsi tribe an average of every ten seconds. The cyclists featured in Rising from Ashes, young children at the time of the tragedy, narrowly escaped death. After the war, they began to import old racing bikes from bordering countries to attempt a return to their national sport, a source of great pride. In 2005, Tom Ritchey, inventor of the mountain bike, heard of these naturally gifted riders and decided to give them a national stage. He asked Boyer, the first American ever to compete in the Tour de France, to come to Rwanda to assemble a team. Boyer, who had recently been in prison and was suffering “dark days” of despair, needed a second chance of his own. He took the challenge and began to train the young Rwandan riders on twenty-five-year-old bikes. As the team progressed, he helped them work through the haunting nightmares of the past. One of his most gifted team members, Adrien Niyonshuti, lost 60 of his family members in the genocide. With Boyer’s assistance, Adrien learned to transfer his pain into endurance and soon began winning race after race. Boyer brought him to America to compete as a professional, and eventually Adrien qualified for the 2012 Olympics.


Narrated by actor Forest Whitaker, Rising from Ashes celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and the sport of cycling.


- JOEY PORCELLI

In cooperation with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Colorado Assisted Cycling Tours, Regis University

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Rising From Ashes from T.C. Johnstone on Vimeo.

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