"Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story" Scoops Peace and Sport Documentary Prize at Sportel Awards

A stellar achievement for local filmmakers as "Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story" produced by Orange Films and Star Films snags the Peace and Sport Documentary award at the prestigious Sportel Awards. The documentary incisively chronicles the uplifting journey of Siya Kolisi, an emblem of unity, battling half-a-life-time’s challenges to be South Africa's first black African rugby captain. He helmed the Springboks in their triumphant 2019 World Cup run, fostering nationwide unity in the process.

Born in Zwide, a township in Port Elizabeth, the 32-year-old rugby ace's journey from humble beginnings to global recognition resounds throughout the documentary. Furthermore, "Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story" also contributes financially to the under-resourced communities as the documentary’s proceeds feed back into Kolisi's own charity, The Kolisi Foundation. Co-founded with his wife Rachel, the foundation champions issues around food insecurity, gender-based violence, education, and sport.

Mr Kolisi, known as a “Champion for Peace", attests that his documentary's victory at the Sportel Awards sits alongside its previous accolade, the Audience Award, won at the renowned Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. The Sportel award reinforces the mission of Peace and Sport which underscores the influential status held by athletes as societal role models and their social obligation thereof.

Mahlatse Mashua, a board member of The Kolisi Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for the award as he said, “Rise serves as a poignant signpost that challenges societal norms and champions community-based pathways to success for individuals like Siya.”