Behind five huge apartment blocks is Molenbeek’s athletics track. Salma, Firdaws, Ezra and the other children (aged 11–13) train there three times a week with coach Hamza. The training sessions are often chaotic: everyone speaks different languages, the metro keeps interrupting Hamza every five minutes, and for many of the children, laughing is an official athletics discipline. On top of that, the athletics track is officially 40 metres too short. Still, the pressure is growing. In two weeks, the club is going to an important competition outside the city.
Maura De Troyer first studied History and then Directing at RITCS. She combines filmmaking and drawing with her work as a journalist and writer for BRUZZ.
Onze Piste shows that it’s okay to laugh at the sometimes strange and funny world of sport. It shows how much fun it can be to not always follow the rules. This creates a warm group where different ideas can exist side by side. I really admire the children at the club. They stay playful, question the rules and, whatever happens, keep going with their heads held high. To me, that is a hopeful way to look at the world.
Onze Piste is part of the Ket&Doc collection