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It started by accident when I contacted my friend Tim about showing a independently made skateboard video called “The Working Man” at the Chicago film festival that he runs. He said, sure, but asked me to curate an entire program to go with it and I accepted the challenge. After the packed spring 2012 showing in the Windy City, the pack of new, independent skateboard films went on to enjoy successful screenings at film festivals in Honolulu and San Diego–a pretty cool run that I was stoked by and proud of. I not only was able to give attention to the awesome work of my creative friends but promote skateboarding videos as an art form and more than a niche genre for sweaty guys who roll around sideways. So when Judy at Asian Cinevision asked if I’d like to bring the program to this summer’s Asian American International Film Festival, how could I say no? It will include the same core of movies: • “The Working Man” and “The Perfect Time” by Pity Corp., reimagining Downtown Los Angeles through the lens of skateboarding • The Brotherhood: Chicago by Wing Ko, featuring Jesse Neuhaus, Stevie Dread, and Eric Murphy • Ben Clark and Langdon Taguiped’s “Traveling Sounds” and “Wide Angle Sounds” with Ray Barbee and Mario Rubalcaba • “Willy vs. Jo Koy,” pitting legendary Pinoy skater Willy Santos against big-time Pinoy comedian Jo Koy. As usual, there will be a local element mixed in. This time it is a world premiere by skate documentarian RB Umali. • “N.Y. Revisited 3 Remix” features some of the city’s most beloved spots and skaters, including Jefferson Pang, Keith Hufnagel, Danny Supa, Chris Keeffe, Bobby Puleo, Karl Watson, Vinnie Ponte, Ben Liversedge, Anthony Correa, Maurice Key, Joey Alvarez, Spencer Fujimoto, Todd Jordan, Gino Ianucci, Quim Cardona, Rodney Torres, Fred Gall, Peter Bici, and Harold Hunter. Animal Style Revisited will show one time only on Friday, August 2 at 8:30 pm at Anthology Film Archives. Get more information and preorder tickets at asiancinevision.org. Share, and hope to see you there!
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If you missed my Animal Style/Son of Animal Style program of indie skate shorts by friends in Chicago or Honolulu, you have one more chance. It’s showing as part of the San Diego Asian Film Festival on Saturday, November 3 at 1:00. From noir to pop, documentary to music, skateboarding to comedy, it’s pretty rad. And the skaters? The Working Man Tad Suzuki, SGV’s John Lee, Jesse Neuhaus, Stevie Dread, Eric Murphy, Ray Barbee, Mario Rubalcaba, Willy Santos, and Honolulu’s own APB crew are there, in order. Don’t blink or you might miss cameos by Salman Agah and Jef Hartsel, as well. Check out the program, buy tickets at the festival webpage, and see you there. Pass this on to friends in S.D., too!
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The best thing about editing Giant Robot magazine was being able to share the rad things that friends do. And make new friends that do rad things. That’s how I feel about my first sizable “solo” project, assembling (and sometimes even participating in) excellent shorts that friends have created and then complementing them with works by new friends. So while the Animal Style (Chicago) and Son of Animal Style (Honolulu, San Diego) skate video programs have given my crew an outlet for their hard work, they have provided me with fodder to keep engaged, keep pushing culture.
And is there a better place to do it than the Hawaii International Film Festival? No other fest balances East and West, high and low, or big budget and indie like HIFF. And while it makes sense for the latest iteration of the Animal Style program to show alongside the long-awaited Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, it’s even cooler that it is on the same roster as Cloud Atlas, Tai Chi 0, and The King of Pigs. It puts skateboard movies in the same conversation as “real” cinema. And with guys like Spike Jonze, Mike Mills, Jason Lee, and even Sam Lee coming from the world of skateboarding, why not?
After being fortunate enough to cover the Hawaii International Film Festival a number of times for Giant Robot magazine, and I have to say that it’s my favorite of all time. The range and balance of art to trash, big budget to indie, and Asian to not Asian perfectly suits my tastes. Plus they get the raddest filmmakers to attend because who wouldn’t want to travel to Honolulu? (The beach, shave ice, malasadas, and friends and relatives don’t hurt, either.) So I’m super excited to attend this year’s festival as a contributor as well as a supporter. I’ve been helping some friends get their skate videos shown on the big screen as part of the Animal Style program, and this showing is doubly cool because they’ll be right alongside the much-anticipated Bones Brigade documentary. Many of my filmmaker friends are already on the island–probably ripping it up at the skate parks and local spots as I type this–and I can’t wait to join them tomorrow. If you happen to be on Oahu, I cordially invite you to attend. If you have buddies there, it would be awesome if you told them about it as well. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you out there! Get the scoop at http://program.hiff.org/films/section/son_of_animal_style_skate_shorts.
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Some of you might recall that I assembled a program of skateboard videos that played in Chicago back in April. Named Animal Style after the famous Search for Animal Chin, it was a way for me to put the spotlight on some rad Asian and independent filmmakers who just happened to be my friends. Well, now there are two more chances to catch it, as remixed lineups have been announced in Honolulu and San Diego. The core of arthouse-meets-funhouse pairing of The Working Man and Perfect Timing and Windy City documentary with 20 years of footage The Brotherhood: Chicago has been kept intact, now bolstered by a double-header of skate rock (Traveling Sounds with Ray Barbee and Wide Angle Sounds: Mario Rubalcaba), a skating vs. comedy throwdown in Willy Santos vs. Jo Koy, and a Sampler by Honolulu’s Treevisions crew. The Honolulu screening will also include a bonus feature on local skater/musician Anton Glamb’s First Day of Summer. I’m super excited to not only give my talented friends run for their great work once more, but also to hit the road with many of them. The dates are as follows: October 19, 2012 – Hawaii International Film Festival November 3, 2012 – San Diego Asian American Film Festival Who knows if I’ll ever be invited to do anything like this again, so I hope you click on the links, plan to attend, and get inspired to skate, make movies, or just say hi.
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