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A jaunty ride through London’s skateboarding scene, The Skatebook pulls from a wide range of perspectives to explore a culture that, per one interviewee, is ‘60 per cent community, 40 per cent skateboarding’. The UK filmmaker Sofia Negri surveys newcomers, veterans and everyone in between for the work, pairing their words with lively hand-drawn characters who ride in and out of her sketchbooks, and through live-action skatepark scenes. From these voices and images, a complex portrait of the skating landscape emerges – one in which the learning horizon is endless and most people are welcoming, but, even amid what one old-schooler calls a ‘watered-down’ culture, some members can still be a real drag.
Director: Sofia Negri
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