The documentary’s simple title of Runner serves to emphasize its subject Guor Mading Maker as who he plainly is: not his identity as a South Sudanese refugee or an American athlete, but literally, someone who runs.
Directed by Bill Gallagher, the film highlights Maker’s childhood experience of immigrating to the United States to escape the Sudanese Civil War and draws an ironic juxtaposition between his family no longer needing to “run” from warfare with the hobby Maker was soon to pick up.
Anecdotes from Maker’s family, coaches, and peers bounce between being funny and devastating: one moment Maker is introduced to granola bars and devours half a box; the next he attempts to quit running after finding out his brother was killed back in his home country.
Maker’s past and present come into conflict when he qualifies for the 2012 Summer Olympics but finds himself without a country to compete for: as a permanent resident non-citizen of the United States, he was invited to compete on behalf of (North) Sudan but refused to represent the country he was forced to flee from. South Sudan, which had gained independence the year before, did not have a National Olympic Committee, which seemed to force Maker’s hand to either represent North Sudan or rescind - that is until he entered as an Independent Olympic Athlete separate from any country.
Runner as a whole is less about Maker’s specific athletic achievements, and more about the position refugees are put in when they don’t “belong” anywhere they go. Maker was one of many and far from the last person to leave their home country for something better, and his is just one example of getting caught in between identities.
While true to the experience of being split between two worlds, the film would benefit from a tighter focus on Maker’s career or his family, rather than loosely including both. Runner tries to do a lot of things in one documentary, which is exemplified in the film’s commitment to animating some sequences, while simply describing and using live footage for others.
An athlete’s story doesn’t require the perfect ending - but every story needs polish to turn it into a beginning-to-end narrative, and Runner lays out Maker’s story, for better or for worse. Runner may be a great resource for those interested in refugee and/or athlete stories, but more casual viewers may find the documentary disorganized in its execution, though it has heart.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Runner could be used in library programming focusing on immigrant and refugee experiences.
What kind of film series would this documentary fit in?
This documentary would fit in any film series about refugees and/or athletes.
How would audiences react to this screening?
Audiences will find Maker’s story inspiring.