This year’s NYUFF skateboard program mixes new independent work with two highly influential, hard-to-find classics from 1991. With the close of 2001 * bringing recession and war, Wheels of Change looks at skateboarding’s reaction to similar circumstances a decade ago, as the sport went underground and reinvented itself on its own terms. The D.I.Y. style of skater-directed team videos from the early 90s laid the groundwork for today’s indie skate documentary and video directors. Also included are some short contemporary films that shed light on skate culture today.

The Fat (facts about skateboarding)
Documentary. dir. Lucia Helenka. Video. 13:00 (UK, 2001)
Top pros Steve Berra *, Tony Hawk *, Bucky Lasek *, Kris Markovich *, and a crew of UK * locals reveal their history of pain and the passion behind the wipeouts that keeps them coming back.

Alien Workshop *: Memory Screen
Dir. Chris Carter, Mike Hill and Neil Blender *. Skate Video. 18:00 excerpt. (1991)
In 1990 * a crew of skaters turned their backs on the SoCal-based industry in what would even today be a radical move, by starting their own skate company in Xenia, Ohio * (long before it became the setting for Gummo). The result was Alien Workshop, which in the early 90s epitomized the oddball, avant-garde spirit of skateboarding. Memory Screen broke the mold for a team video by employing abstract, non-skating related video segments with low-fi skate footage.

Dirtboarding Skateopia
Documentary. dir. Rick Charnoski. Super-8 on video. 2:00 (2001)
Ohio is the scene for all things badass … featuring downhill * dirtboarding and a demolition derby.

Blind *: Video Days
dir. Spike Jonze and Karol Winthrop. Skate Video. 24:00 (1991)
This rare and long out of print video is not only Spike Jonze’s first film, but helped change the direction of skateboarding forever with Mark Gonzales *’ switch-stance street skating. Featuring the Gonz *, Jason ("Almost Famous") Lee, Rudy Johnson * and fourteen year old Guy Mariano *.

Two Minutes Skating in NYC
Skate Video. dir. Andrew Gosselin. Video. 2:00 (2001)
The title says it all.

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Skate Video. dir. Arthur Rocker. Super-8 on video. 5:00 (2001)
As is tradition we end the show with the local flavor: color super 8 from Brooklyn and NYC.

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