Today, Netflix releases Riding With Sugar – a story of triumph and hope in the face of adversity. Written and directed by Cannes Lions Gold winner, Sunu Gonera and produced by iconic film stalwart Helena Spring, the African story is a coming-of-age, feel-good ride about a young refugee’s quest for BMX glory.
Once a student with a great future, refugee Joshua dreams of winning a cycling championship as a means of finding a better life, but fate intervenes in the form of an accident that shatters his dream. He is given shelter and a job by Mambo who houses refugee teenagers from all over Africa. When Joshua meets Olivia, a talented young dancer from a well-to-do family, it brings him into a world he has never known before, but her insights cast a shadow over Mambo’s agenda.
The storyline of this young adult film encompasses all the emotion attached to competing in a competitive sport as well as finding belonging, discovering love and the pursuit of happiness and triumph.
The Afrofuturistic feature film, seventeen years in the making, is out now on Netflix. Riding With Sugar boasts a celebrated cast that includes Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Black Sails, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men, Hotel Rwanda), alongside breakout stars Charles Mnene (The Bill, Holby City, Doctors, Ahead of the Class) and Simona Brown (Guilt, the Roots remake, and Him).
Riding with Sugar is streaming now on Netflix.