The Why Kunsthal Charlottenborg

In coorporation with The Why Foundation Kunsthal Charlottenborg screens the documentary ‘Marathon Boy’ (2010).

In the film we meet the Indian boy Budhia Singh, who at the age of three had already run six half marathons. By four he was making it the full 42 km. His biggest dream is to one day run his way to the Olympics. But as you almost instinctively suspect, this dream is not only his own making. Behind the marathon running wonder child, adoptive father and coach Biranchi, is riding his bike. A man who is self-funding an orphanage and judo school and who does everything in his power to draw attention to Budhia and his unusual skills. When the local child welfare office intervenes, a political battle breaks out, with Budhia as its center. And when his biological mother shows up to claim her now famous son, with the slum mafia backing her, the boy’s position as a pawn in the game of adults trying to take advantage of his talent, becomes tragically obvious. Marathon Boy is a story about the desperate need for cathartic success stories that can exist in a country like India, and an insight into, how some adults will go to great lengths to exploit children in the process.

Director: Gemma Atwal. Run Time: 45 min.