The Uruguayan film Champion of the World by Federico Borgia and Guillermo Madeiro has won the Audience Award, been voted as the most popular film in the inaugural edition of the LongShots online global film festival presented by the BBC.
Champion of the World follows Antonio Osta, who, ten years after winning a world title in bodybuilding in Russia and becoming a bodybuilding star in Mexico, leads a life of austerity in the rural Uruguayan town where he grew up. Living with Juanjo, his sensitive teenage son who keeps him company and confronts him openly, Antonio suffers from acute kidney disease which keeps him from competing professionally. He is stuck in limbo, halfway between his glorious past and the impossibility of being who he once was. However, he is unwilling to give up his lifestyle, even if it kills him. In an attempt to reinvent himself, and seeking a better future for his son, Antonio plans a comeback to the Mexico bodybuilding scene, where he may relive his glory days.
BBC’s LongShots featured seven international documentary films and took place May 28 to June 24. The Uruguayan film will be available for streaming for free for one additional year on the BBC Reel.
