New Orleans Film Festival 2009

From the dusty roads of the Soweto township to the manicured lawns of Johannesburg’s suburbs, Comrades follows six ordinary South Africans—who represent a cross-section of South African society—as they train for and compete in one of the world's toughest races: the historic 56-mile Comrades ultra-marathon run annually by more than 13,000 amateurs. Over the course of the film we discover these runners’ individual personalities, their beliefs, aspirations, and stories of hardship and success. But we also gain an insight into South Africa itself—past and present—for Comrades’ history is interwoven with that of the country’s. Since its birth in the heyday of colonial power (1921), Comrades has grown from a fringe activity for a small number of athletes into South Africa’s most popular sporting event and the only one that is truly multi-racial. This was not always so; the rise and fall of apartheid is mirrored in the race's history. The race’s complex past is explored through archive footage dating back to the 1920’s; footage of black runners competing unofficially, competitors using the race to register their opposition to apartheid. Comrades’ history is also told by the characters we follow, who, united in their belief in the race’s social importance, see Comrades as a powerful symbol of unity and an important emblem of the 'new' South Africa.