Siya Kolisi’s ‘raw, brave, funny’ documentary to air this weekend
Fresh layers will be added to the ‘Siya Kolisi Story’ when his inspirational documentary premieres publicly on 26 February.
An intensely personal new documentary, Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story, will reveal a different side to the Springboks captain. It tells the tale of Kolisi’s upbringing and tracks his path from hopeless boy to captain of South Africa, and one of the most influential sports people ever.
Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story will premiere on DStv in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa on 26 February, offering exclusive insights into the making of the man, both on and off the rugby field.
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In the latest preview shared by SuperSport, the documentary is described as “raw, brave, funny and remarkable”.
“To Kolisi’s credit, his story is unvarnished and even unpleasant in parts,” the preview reads. “There are deeply revealing cameos with his wife Rachel, who at one point exhorts that she doesn’t want to make him seem ‘like a monster’ in her telling of their journey together.
“So too the fractured, difficult relationship with his father, a flawed man with whom Siya has a tangled link. For all its pathos, it is part of what adds to the depth and quality of the film. It also reaffirms the staggering turnaround by the player himself, a man who admits to struggling with the demon drink and partying a little too hard in his early years.
“Fundamentally, he started life on the backfoot in Zwide in the Eastern Cape and endured struggles every step of the way. That he managed to make his way out to emerge as South Africa’s No 1 sporting hero is a scarcely believable miracle.
“What the film also shows is how he has managed to straddle both of his realities: the one as a man from the township, the other as a father now living contentedly in suburbia.”
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BROADCAST DETAILS
MNet: February 26 at 5pm.
1Magic: February 26 at 5pm.
SuperSport: February 26 at 8pm (Grandstand, Rugby, and Variety 1).
Showmax: March 6.
Showmax Pro: March 1.
In the lead-up to the premiere, Kolisi has conducted an interview with SuperSport, which again reveals a different side to the 31-year-old as he discusses a range of subjects from mental health, to reconnecting with his dad to the challenges of his upbringing.
You can watch some other preview clips from Kolisi below:
You can also watch the discussion on mental health by clicking here
In another clip, the national captain also recounts his painful childhood and being helpless against the frequent abuse of his mother. Click here to watch that portion of the interview.
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