Rising PhoenixMovies like Rising Phoenix
- Key Features:
- Olympic Games, Disability, Diversity, Inclusion, Human potential, Overcoming adversity, Sports documentary, Social impact, Social change, Athlete profile, Inspirational, Triumph over adversity
- Tone:
- earnest, serious
- Target Audience:
- Sports enthusiasts, Documentary viewers, Advocates for disability rights, Those seeking inspirational stories
- Emotional Arc:
- Challenge → Perseverance → Triumph
Rising Phoenix

Elite athletes and insiders reflect on the Paralympic Games and examine how they impact a global understanding of disability, diversity and excellence.
Rising Phoenix
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil, this documentary captures Pelé's extraordinary path from breakthrough talent to national hero. Mixing rare archival footage and exclusive interviews, this documentary celebrates the legendary Brazilian footballer who personified football as art.

Based on the incredibly true story of a Spanish man with Multiple Sclerosis who tried to finish an Iron-Man: 3,8km swimming, 180km cycling and 42 running. And he was told that he could not make 100 meters.

When the progress of robotics makes Paralympic athletes the new sports stars, Maria dreams of competing against her sister. For that, she will have to enter a world of crime and violence.

After emigrating to Greece from Nigeria, Vera and Charles Antetokounmpo struggled to survive and provide for their five children, while living under the daily threat of deportation. Desperate to obtain Greek citizenship but undermined by a system that blocked them at every turn, the family's vision, determination and faith lifted them out of obscurity to launch the careers of three NBA champions.

Fully authorized, access-all-areas feature doc on the hugely charismatic and globally adored Usain Bolt – officially the fastest man alive. With never-before-seen archive footage of his youth in Jamaica, through to original footage that will be captured at his fourth and final Olympic Games in Rio, where he will compete for the gold in both the 100 and 200 metres races, for a third straight Games before his retirement in 2017. I AM BOLT will reveal the man and define the legacy of this incredible athlete.

The true story of Gabby Douglas who becomes the first African American to be named Individual All-Around Champion in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games.

16-year-old Kelly quits an elite gymnastics program and moves to Australia. To help out a new friend and show up an old rival she re-enters competitive gymnastics, she'll have to find a way to move forward while making amends with her past.

Coach Jim Ellis shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor, he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.

Based on the story of Jesse Owens, the athlete whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.

From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use.

A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?

The Story of longtime UFC Featherweight champion and the struggles facing him on the road to the top.

Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others.

A bright and determined teen who has mild cerebral palsy strives to be a wrestler on his high school's team and to win over the heart of a classmate, the girl of his dreams.

From the UFC Octagon in Las Vegas and the anthropology lab at Dartmouth, to a strongman gym in Berlin and the bushlands of Zimbabwe, the world is introduced to elite athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, cultural icons, and everyday heroes—each on a mission to create a seismic shift in the way we eat and live.

Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean.

With the unwavering love and support of his devoted mother Judy and the encouragement of his coaches, Anthony Robles fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team. But it will demand everything he has, physically and mentally, to achieve his ultimate quest to become an NCAA Champion.

An ambitious young skier, determined to break all existing records, is contemptuous of the teamwork advocated by the US coach when they go to Europe for the Olympics.

Two ice skaters develop a love-hate relationship while dreaming of Olympic glory.

An unlikely team of activists and innovators hatches a bold mission to save endangered species.

This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James' journey to fame.

After a serious sport accident in a swimming pool, Ben, now an incomplete quadriplegic, arrives in a rehabilitation center. He meets with other handicapped persons (tetraplegics, paraplegics, traumatized crania), all victims of accidents, as well as a handicapped since his early childhood. They go through impotence, despair and resignation, with their daily struggle to learn how to move a finger or to hold a fork. Some of them slowly find a little mobility while others receive the verdict of the handicap for life. Despite everything, hope and friendship help them endure their difficulties.

When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican bobsled team.

Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement.

Follow three professional video game players as they overcome personal adversity, family pressures, and the realities of life to compete in a $1,000,000 tournament that could change their lives forever.

A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.

The remarkable coming-of-age story of Stephen Curry—one of the most influential, dynamic, and unexpected players in basketball history—and his rise from an undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion.

The secret life of a young World of Warcraft gamer is vividly reimagined when his online friends contact his family after his death.

With heart and determination, Antoine Griezmann overcame his small stature to become one of the world's top soccer players and a World Cup champion.

A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders.

The Crash Reel tells the story of a sport and the risks that athletes face in reaching the pinnacle of their profession. This is Kevin Pearce’s story, a celebrated snowboarder who sustained a brain injury in a trick gone wrong and who now aims, against all the odds, to get back on the snow.

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

The background and career of Tony Parker, whose determination led him to become arguably the greatest French basketball player.

Mariel is a veteran elite diver who has one last chance at the Olympic Games. However, when a terrible truth comes to light, Mariel faces her biggest personal question: Is winning her true dream?

Dramatisation of the true story of the life of Neil "Nello" Baldwin. Born with a mild learning disability but without the burden of social embarrassment & how his inexhaustible ability to see the good in any situation overcame any stigma society tried to label him with.

Follow the Indianapolis Star reporters that broke the story about USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's abuse and hear from gymnasts.

Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

A portrait of Zion Clark, a young wrestler who was born without legs and grew up in foster care.

Bonded by their love of freediving, a record-setting champion and a heroic safety diver try to make history with a remarkable feat, ready to risk it all.

Elise thought she had the perfect life: an ideal boyfriend and a promising career as a ballet dancer. It all falls apart the day she catches him cheating on her with her stage backup; and after she suffers an injury on stage, it seems like she might not be able to dance ever again.

A look inside the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal that shook the sports world in 2017 depicting a landscape in which women spend their youth seeking victory on a world stage, juxtaposed against a culture where abuse prevails and lives are damaged forever.

Christopher Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care.

The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes.

After a near-fatal accident, on a horse the experts thought was nothing special, a determined rider from the wrong side of the tracks defies all the odds to pursue her dreams of winning a national jumping championship.

Young elite swimmer Claire is sent to Australia to coach a boys swimming team, where she must overcome an old rival and a secret fear to save the swimming camp from closing.

Two former Olympians, one a figure skater and the other a hockey player, pin their hopes of one last shot at Olympic glory on one another. That is, of course, if they can keep from killing each other in the process...

In order to participate with medal options in the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, the national coach of France decides to form a basketball team composed mostly of fake mentally disability. Once in Australia, the fraudsters must fake their disability by living with the other athletes in the Olympic village or by attending the media in the post-match press conference.

Based on true events. In 1980s Poland, Jerzy Górski is a young man who finds the determination to struggle against his drug addiction through athletic training, with the aim of competing in the US Ironman Triathlon.

While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, director Bryan Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program.

Claressa Shields, a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, aided by her tough-love coach, Jason Crutchfield, pushes past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. But even at the pinnacle of success, Claressa has to reckon with the fact that not all dreams are created equal, and the real fight has only just begun.

Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.

A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

After reluctantly agreeing to coach cross-country, high school basketball Coach John Harrison helps the least likely runner attempt the impossible in the biggest race of the year.

Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.

The inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza, who after a near fatal car crash, which left him not knowing if he'd ever walk again, made one of sports most incredible comebacks.

When a threat no one could have expected bears down on the Marvel Universe, this ragtag, untrained band of teens have no choice but to rise together and prove to the world that sometimes the difference between a 'hero' and 'misfit' is just in the name.

As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.

Filmed and edited in intimate vérité style, this movie follows visionary medical practitioners who are working on the cutting edge of life and death and are dedicated to changing our thinking about both.

Behind-the-scenes documentary about how Lionel Messi succeeded in lifting the World Cup – the only trophy to have eluded him in an incredible career.

Cristiano Ronaldo: The World at His Feet follows the footballer from his beginnings in Portugal, breakthrough start with Manchester United and current career at Real Madrid.

This is the story of a normal person who does extraordinary things. Someone who pursues and achieves triumphs through taking care of the small details, because these are, after all, the ones that make him a different soccer player.

An inspirational story about the power of hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and an object lesson in what it really means to be a winner in life.

The story of Rickey Hill, who overcomes his physical disability and repairs his relationship with his father in a quest to become a major league baseball (MLB) player.

While filming an advertisement, some extreme sports enthusiasts unwittingly stop a group of terrorists.

As Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films, David Holmes' work has been seen worldwide by millions of people. Tragically an on-set accident ended what David calls "the best job in the world," leaving him paralyzed. Like the on-screen character he helped bring to life, David is determined to continue seeking adventure and living life to the fullest despite mounting obstacles.

The inspirational tale of the grandfathers of the fitness movement as we now know it, Joe & Ben Weider. Battling anti-Semitism, racism and extreme poverty, the brothers beat all odds to build an empire & inspire future generations.

The inspirational rise of SpaceX as well as Elon Musk's two-decade effort to resurrect America’s space travel ambitions.

Three friends in wheelchairs welcome a new patient at a children's hospital. Growing up together. All emotions pass the revue. Friendship and hope survive all.

Hichki presents a positive and inspiring story about a woman who turns her biggest weakness into her biggest strength.

It's the true-life story of legendary track star Steve Prefontaine, the exciting and sometimes controversial "James Dean of Track," whose spirit captured the heart of the nation! Cocky, charismatic, and tough, "Pre" was a running rebel who defied rules, pushed limits ... and smashed records ...

The inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James's breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

A biography of Ian Dury, who was stricken with polio at a young age and defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s.

A jailed swindler leaps at the chance to earn parole in return for taking care of his estranged brother, an athlete who recently lost his sight.

The true story of Jasmine Plummer who, at the age of eleven, became the first female to play in Pop Warner football tournament in its 56-year history.

A young girl joins hands with a group of kung-fu masters to stop a notorious gang from abducting young women. However, the mission is compromised after they fail to locate the gang's hideout.

With hard work and dedication on lock, a group of homeless men trains to compete in a global tournament — despite a cranky coach.

After her partner's career-ending injury, a former figure skater shifts gears to become an instructor. Later, she finds the strength to return to competitive skating by partnering with an unconventional and notorious speed skater.

A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.

The feel-good story of Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself—even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

From defecting to the Olympics, an underdog weightlifter powers through adversity to raise up his community in this biopic of Naim Süleymanoğlu.

A star athlete reluctantly returns home to take over his father's duties as Ultraman, shielding Tokyo from giant monsters as he becomes a legendary hero.

Two teen track stars discover first love as they train for the biggest relay race of their young lives.

Cho-won is an autistic but happy young man who loves to draw zebras and run. His mother wants him to feel normal by accomplishing a feat that no one thought his son could achieve. With the help of a coach in exile, she trains him to become a marathon runner.

Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.

Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student in Sweden, started a school strike for the climate as her question for adults was, if you don’t care about my future on earth, why should I care about my future in school? Within months, her strike evolved into a global movement as the quiet teenage girl on the autism spectrum becomes a world-famous activist.

This sports documentary tells the story of the Williams Formula 1 team founded by the legendary Sir Frank Williams

An epic, untold story that brings to life the inspiring saga of the World Cup and the three determined men who created it. Driven by their vision and passion, three men, overcame their doubts and fought obstacles and scandals to make the World Cup a reality. Spanning the tumultuous 20th Century, this timeless saga celebrates the event that became the most popular sporting event in the world.

A stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach is forced to train a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.

When Sara hears a preacher say faith can move mountains, she starts praying. Suddenly people in her town are mysteriously healed! But fame soon takes its toll – can Sara’s family save her before it’s too late?

The true story of a working class boy who moves to the nation's financial capital at a young age and becomes one the most influential politicians in Brazilian history.

Alex, blind since the age of two, dreams of running for his school's cross-country team. His father, a probation officer, finds a running partner who spends his time 'running' from the law.

The film tells the story of Malony and his education as he grows from a six-year-old into an 18-year-old. A minors’ judge and a caseworker work tirelessly to try to save the young offender.

A disgraced basketball coach is given the chance to coach Los Amigos, a team of players who are intellectually disabled, and soon realizes they just might have what it takes to make it to the national championships.

An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.


