Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo series to air on Paralympics YouTube
Three-part series from the makers of Netflix hit Rising Phoenix follows athletes as they face the challenges of COVID-19 20 Aug 2024
As excitement builds for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, an extraordinary new series titled ‘Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo’ has been released on the Paralympics YouTube Channel following 12 Para athletes from 11 countries in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
From the team behind the Emmy award winning Rising Phoenix documentary on Netflix, this three-part television feature documentary series follows elite Para athletes as they prepare for Tokyo 2020 against the challenges of COVID-19, providing a unique insight into one of the most extraordinary sporting events in history.
The series begins in 2020 prior to the postponement of the Games. It then follows the emotional up and downs of star names including Norway’s Birgit Skarstein, USA’s Femita Ayanbeku, Singapore’s Laurentia Tan, Greece’s Greg Polychronidis, and Namibia’s Ananias Shikongo, right through to the event taking place in the summer of 2021.
In a landmark for documentary making, around one in four (25 per cent) of those who worked on the production of ‘Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo’ identified as having a disability. The series is directed by Mat Whitecross, co-directed by hard of hearing filmmaker Bim Ajadi, produced by John Battsek of Ventureland, and Exec Produced by Jack Thorne and Greg Nugent, creator of Rising Phoenix.
Mat Whitecross, ‘Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo’ Director, said: “I was first approached to make a show about the Paralympics just before the first lockdown in 2020. Our intention was to follow a dozen athletes from around the world on their road to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. We made contact with Para athletes worldwide from as far afield as Iraq, Norway, Canada, Namibia - all with unique and remarkable stories.
“Over the course of the next year and a half, we followed these formidable athletes through all the highs and lows and all the way to Tokyo. It is one of the great privileges of my filmmaking career to have spent time with these incredible people - and to be able to tell their story to a wider audience.”
#RisingPhoenix #RoadtoTokyo was a real labour of love - for both the Paralympians and the crew. So proud for it to screen every weekend on @channel4 in the run up to Paris - and the show is available now to stream on the C4 website: https://t.co/3wL2ztvJ9u pic.twitter.com/oj83MFmvXA
— Mat Whitecross 🇺🇦💙💛 (@MatWhitecross) August 17, 2024
The Rising Phoenix project was created by Harder Than You Think. In 2022, Harder Than You Think extended their exclusive partnership with the International Paralympic Committee, with the IPC giving them the film documentary and TV series rights to tell the Paralympic story through the Paris 2024, Milan 2026 and LA28 Paralympics.
Executive Producer Greg Nugent said: “On the eve of Paris 2024, we are delighted that our Tokyo series is available globally. It is a remarkable storyline that captures the true power of the Paralympics to unite and inspire us. We are excited by the world meeting the athletes and learning their unique stories through this historic Games.”
The full list of athletes who feature in ‘Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo’ are as follows:
• Femita Ayanbeku, Para athletics, USA
• Nilofar Bayat, Wheelchair basketball, Afghanistan
• Pascale Bercovitch, Para canoe, Israel
• Kim Daybell, Para table tennis, Great Britain
• Sam Grewe, Para athletics, USA
• Danielle Kisser, Para swimming, Canada
• Najla Imad Lafta, Para table tennis, Iraq
• Greg Polychronidis, Boccia, Greece
• Monika Seryu, Para canoe, Japan
• Ananias Shikongo, Para athletics, Namibia
• Birgit Skarstein, Para rowing, Norway
• Laurentia Tan, Para equestrian, Singapore
#RisingPhoenix film director @MatWhitecross spoke to us about how he kept the cameras rolling during the pandemic as Para athletes became their own filmmakers.
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 10, 2022
The three-part Rising Phoenix: Tokyo series will feature 12 athletes from 11 countries.#Paralympics @HTYTmissions
For viewers in the UK, the series will be broadcast by Channel 4, the UK Broadcaster for the Paralympics.
Episode 1 of Rising Phoenix: Road to Tokyo was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK on Saturday 10 August, Episode 2 on Saturday 17 August with the final episode to be broadcast on Saturday 24th August and all episodes available in the UK on channel4.com.
