Waad al-Kateab, the Oscar-nominated director of For Sama, returns with a stirring documentary that follows members of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team as they travel to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Al-Kateab, who was forced to leave her native Syria and now lives in London, brings a raw personal perspective to this celebratory story of athletes who, for whatever reason, can no longer represent the countries of their birth. The film lacks the raw immediacy of For Sama, and it’s certainly a slicker, more polished production, but the athletes are as charismatic as they are courageous. As an uplifting portrait of human endeavour against the odds, this is hard to beat.
