A rooster won gold in '28. Then France forgot him for 90 years.
On August 5, 1928, after 2 hours and 32 minutes of racing, the 71st rooster wearing the bib entered the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. Ahmed El Ouafi Bouguéra wins the gold medal and becomes the first Olympic champion from the African continent. He achieved his feat under the tricolor flag. The start of his real marathon is underway. The history of sport extends to the history of Algeria and France. This documentary retraces the different stages of the life of this great champion, not only the history of sport but also the great story. Archival photographs and interviews mingle with the painted paintings. The series thus once again gives voice to this forgotten hero, one of the great heroes of immigration who defended France for more than a century.
Direction
Laurin weaves oil paintings into archive footage
Editing
27 minutes that somehow spans a century of silence
Director
Olivia Laurin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
El Ouafi was nicknamed 'The Bird' for his fluid stride; he died penniless in 1959, selling newspapers in Algiers.
The film belongs to a wave of French documentaries reclaiming colonial athletic history—see also 'Les Fantômes du Stade' (2018).
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