• Film maker to record latest attempt to break the two-hour mark, dubbed the ‘INEOS 1:59 Challenge’
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Scottish director Kevin Macdonald is expected to jet into Kenya to start shooting marathoner Eliud Kipchoge's new documentary on his plans to break the two-hour barrier.
Kipchoge is the marathon world record holder with a time of 2:01:39. He wants to attempt a sub-two hour marathon in Vienna in October.
Macdonald is expected to land in Kenya tomorrow. While in the country, he will be taken around by filmmakers associated with Ginger Ink, who is known for producing some of Kenya's award-winning movies like 'Supa Modo' and 'Nairobi Half Life'. The two movies by Ginger Ink have been submitted for the Oscars.
The Eliud Kipchoge documentary, which will be shot in Iten, is funded by Britain’s billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe founded chemicals group INEOS and is estimated by London-based Sunday Times Rich List to be worth 21 billion pounds (Sh2.8 trillion).
Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, Lancashire. He studied chemical engineering and got his first job at oil company Esso.
He started making his fortune by mortgaging his house in 1992 to finance a buyout of a BP chemicals business and formed INEOS in 1998.
Today his fortune is valued at 21 billion pounds, and in May 2018, he was named the richest person in the UK.
Macdonald is known for shooting captivating documentaries. He worked with the film production team Altitude, who created a 2018 documentary based on Whitney Houston's life and death.
This was the first Whitney Houston documentary to be officially authorised by the estate and includes never-before-seen footage of Houston, exclusive demo recordings, rare performances and interviews with luminaries like Clive Davis.
He said, "The story that is never told about Whitney is just how brilliant she was as an artiste. By many measures, she had the greatest voice of the last 50 years. She changed the way pop music was sung, bringing it back full circle to its blues and gospel roots."
Adding, "She was also completely unique in being a black pop star who transcended her race globally, with her work sold in countries where black artistes don't sell."