Duration: 5:30
Original Language: English
Year: 2025
Country: UK
FREEDOM TO MOVE intimately chronicles the daily rituals, training regimes, and social life of Rainbow Mbuangi, a talented athlete who plays for Merseyside Blind Football Club.
FREEDOM TO MOVE offers an intimate observation of Rainbow Mbuangi, a key player for Merseyside Blind Football Club. The film embeds itself within Mbuangi’s daily life, documenting the structured routines, intensive training, and social world that orbit his athletic pursuits. Through a rigorous focus on sound—both the necessities of his off-field navigational aids and the specialized, rattling ‘soundball’ used in the game—the documentary explores the complex relationship between dependence and autonomy. On the pitch, where he is fully reliant on auditory cues, Mbuangi challenges conventional notions of athletic space and visual interpretation.
The intention behind Freedom to Move was to create a film that doesn’t rely on exposition but rather immerses the audience in Rainbow’s daily reality – both on and off the field. We want viewers to feel the rhythm of his routines and the nuances of his interactions, offering a visceral understanding of his life. To do so, we haveblended observational filming with re-enactment. This meant capturing Rainbow and his close friends in their environment, while also staging certain moments to convey key aspects of Rainbow’s life.
In addition, we’re focusing on enhancing the auditory experience of Rainbow, leveraging sound design to immerse viewers in his world through sonic motifs centred around the sound ball, the sped-up audio phone cues and rattling of the walking cane. To simulate Rainbow’s visual impairment, the film starts with 11 seconds of black screen allowing the soundscape to lead the audience into Rainbow’s world.
Directed by Cecilia Stenbom
Camera Helena Öhman
Sound Alice Dunphy
Project Coordinator and Editor Sara Brook
Produced by Cecilia Stenbom and Ben Young
Concept developed by Andrea Scott Bell and Cecilia Stenbom
Cecilia Stenbom 