USA,
2001, 91 min
Shown in 2002
CREDITS
- dir
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Stacy Peralta
- prod
-
Agi Orsi, Stephen Nemeth, Daniel Ostroff
- scr
-
Stacy Peralta, Craig Stecyk
- cam
-
Peter Pilafian
- editor
-
Paul Crowder
- mus
-
Paul Crowder, Terry Wilson
- source
-
Sony Pictures Classics, 550 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022. FAX: 212-833-8844.
-
COMMENTS
Stacy Peralta in person.
OTHER
For skateboarders, Dogtown inspires a Mecca-like reverence. The once economically depressed neighborhood straddling Santa Monica and Venice Beach is not only the epicenter of modern skateboarding, but perhaps even the birthplace of extreme sports. It was from there that the unique ethos of the Jeff Ho Surf Shop and the Zephyr skateboarding team—fusing together surf-punk revelry, artistic sensibility and fierce individualism—burst into the consciousness of skaters, surfers, artists and entrepreneurs worldwide. Stacy Peralta, one of the original “Z-Boys” (so named for the legendary Zephyr skateboarding team), has reassembled his cohorts, the explosive group of boarding misfits that catapulted to (punk) rock star status. Sean Penn narrates amidst contemporary interviews with some of the most (in)famous skaters ever, including ex-Z-boys Tony Alva and Jay Adams (legends in extreme sports history). But most prized is the adrenaline-inducing, pristine mid-’70s film footage and still photography documenting the Z-Boys’ pioneering vertical attacks on asphalt, concrete, empty swimming pools—pretty much any perilous urban surface. Winner of both the Sundance audience award and best director award for documentary, this ultra-high-energy doc is a must-see, a film that beautifully translates the sheer will, aggression and creative force of kids growing up amidst urban decay and unknowingly creating a cultural (and economic) juggernaut.
—Sean Uyehara
FACTOID #217
A sporadic SFIFF tradition, fashion shows are lighthearted affairs that help raise funds for the Festival. In 1968, Oakland designer Richard Tam mounted a show at the Fairmont Hotel that attracted high society; the Examiner commented that the show ’combined Tam’s simple daytime elegance with his almost theatrical evening gowns.’
