Javier Varillas, the Spain-born and currently Prague-based filmmaker already behind, most notably, « THE ULTIMATE PESSERTIVE REMIX » screened at Vladimir Film Festival 2019, presented his latest work at Vladimir again, in 2021, under the form of « (OUT)PERFORMANCE » - co-featuring the talents of locals Kuba Novotný, Daniel Dauš, Roman Špaček, Payo Labbé and Štěpán Janda to « tell the story of a group of thirty-plus-year-old skateboarders, united by the tireless motivation for searching » and exploiting their immediate urban terrain. Javier's first venture into the world of HD also marks a more personal spin on his usual approach and results in what he describes as « an intimate testimony of commitment, determination and friendship ».
From professional for Stereo Skateboards, Jason Lee and Chris Pastras's company, in the late nineties to author of some of the most crucial skate videos of the past two decades - including the famous Dylan Rieder Gravis part (yes, this one), TransWorld videos such as "SIGHT UNSEEN" and various other cultural institutions ("THE DC VIDEO", "MINDFIELD"...) - Greg Hunt's background is as atypical as it is rich and diverse. Now, if the arty aesthetics of the first Stereo videos - paired up with a special, and quite the impactful gift from Gabe Morford - encouraged him towards literal film work rather early on, his equally sincere interest in still photography persists, maybe, as more low-key celebrated than his legacy of technically moving pictures - in spite of quite the relentless activity, publishing-wise. As though to highlight the intrinsic importance of his subjects, presence and style throughout the years, "20TH CENTURY SUMMER", his new book, just dropped via Filmphotographic and features a selection of forty-one previously unreleased photos - all curated from some of the very first rolls of film Greg ever shot in his life; and what finer context for one's such experiments than a skate tour throughout the United States in the dead midst of summer 1995... Getting curious already? Well hopefully Greg himself will address all your possible questions - via this interview, below!
With "PERDU UN JOUR DE PLUS", Sébastien Rolando represents, in a way, an otherwise always-too-undercelebrated slice of Paris skateboarding: the one that's about skating every district the French capital has to offer in one's own unique way, indiscriminately exploiting every possible bit of spot like just as many correct guesses and with rather disinterested nonchalance; the one that doesn't stop to even consider the skatestoppers at Jussieu, and will use the terrain anyway. The video also bears witness to many a wild impertinence just thrown in the face of the local metropolitan topography, too; all at the service of a duct-taped fisheye lens and some psychedelic editing that isn't without being reminiscent of "MEMORY SCREEN". Feel free to follow Sébastien on YouTube, here!
The Rennes scene has been renowned for its constantly bubbling activity for a good while, now; the most diligent of now-O.G. heads definitely remember Pacôme Gabrillagues' video works, most notably the full-length "CROSSWALK" back in 2010 - at the dawn of the rise in popularity and traction of independent european creation - or maybe more contemporarily, the entire Galerie 126 adventure. Théo Le Guével's newest full-length VX-1000 video, "UNCENSO-RENNES", bears witness to how the recent generations have been insisting to honor such a rich cultural legacy ever since and, in between more Rennes activists throughout the ages, Laurent Ségal also fits right in since at the wheel of Bears Skateshop, formerly Bamboo, open on location since 2004. Thus in a way, it's almost two decades that the release of this "BEARS VIDEO" by Yoann Cailleteau is celebrating - but not just that as, given the variety in the profiles composing its sum, it also reflects the human adventure aspect of skateboarding, on one hand; and healthy doses of elbow grease smoothness, on the other hand. Checking in on everyone involved just had to be done, as to duly honor the Rennes scene as far as we're concerned - and they all turned out to have plenty to say, too, as the joined interview can attest, below!
One may still be claiming atheism, the occasion is just too perfect to not praise Tom Knox to the skies, once again, for a part entirely filmed at one spot atht is normally swarmed with strolling tourists, and for once deserted under the petty excuse of a pandemic. Tom makes the best lemonade possible out of the situation, here, as one would expect. Certainly one of the most gifted, and an ever more interesting skater of his generation… But, that, you already know!
Mark Suciu is back, with a new concept: just murking spots, without more thinking behind it than that (that we get, at least!)… And that is no slowing down either, let's be clear, here: the number of "established" spots being looked at in a other way and of lines that make no sense is here, definitely here. We might even get here one of his best part ever. And that accounts for something. Something heavy.
Our collega at Pop are now making wooden toys, and are doing it right, off course! They even just recruited a Japanese rider! But don't be confused, whenever he is finally allowed to travel from Osaka to Amsterdam, he won't feel lost in streets of paving blocks…
... Or the joy of stumbling upon a gem of a skate video by chance, around a random YouTube corner, to then realize - upon further investigation - that it in fact happens to double up as some of the earliest works of a now universally renowned movie director. "MOVIE THIS" was sculpted and polished back in Oslo sometime in prehistory (circa 1991), and Jørgen Johannessen just dug it up for public display. A time capsule that testifies of how sharply up-to-date the locals were at the time (with advanced tricks that really don't blemish from the comparison with then-contemporary U.S. productions such as "1281"), but also of an era at large - maybe representative of the general skate energy in Europe that was before the New World Order.
A lot of the footy in 'MOVIE THIS' is from a local, Oslo skatepark called Rikshallen (the national indoor arena, 1990-1994), where I first met Trier, his crew and several of my best friends today. The place was loosely run by late teens and had pretty much zero rules. The older skaters still treated us kids OK, and I have great memories from the place.
Since the film is now thirty years old, I hit up Trier about putting the whole thing on YouTube, and he was totally cool about it. The line-up in the film is massive, some of the guys are alive and well, some no longer among us. Anyway, it's a great trip down memory lane seeing the film today, as well as it serves as a document over a time and place that no longer exists." - Jørgen Johannessen
"LUX VERITAS" is a three-minute VX edit that was assembled by Sami Lababedi, and recently shown at the latest Parisian Roundabout to date - that is, Sergej Vutuc's itinerant, independent skate film festival, that one time as part of PSSFF. About the clip, Sami speaks the truth:
"Well in the first place, those clips were something nobody was doing anything with - they had been just sitting there for a while, on this or that filmer's hard drives.
I thought that was a bit of a shame, and so I suggested to get them and put them all together into one edit of my friends, filmed throughout Paris, Brussels and the South of France." - Sami Lababedi
Straight out of Bandung, the fourth biggest city in Indonesia is coming to us the opportunity to catch "[THE] BREAK", after thirty days of incessant filming over the course of the local lockdown. Which just so happened to result in no less than a twelve-minute stream of original styles and spots still wrapped in their own pristine exoticism, but not of the least rugged type otherwise. All at the service of the good, ol' round fisheye and some fast-paced editing; when it comes to inspiring you to explore new skate territory, this video should do the trick! And we're talking some collective local work, seeing as Alvin Flip and Iyofrd collected all those clips, while Indra Domdom, their main subject of choice himself was tasked with the editing. The project was supposed by clothing brand United Hart, shoe brand Saint Barkley and skate brand Hello Skate. Thanks to Rayis Bisyir of Malacca Skateboards for keeping us in the loop - make sure to (re-) watch his own productions, whilst more is on the way already!
Ah, the Ruben case… The elusive one, unless maybe we’re talking around the corner of this or that random street in Milan, whose silhouette is very particularly distinguishable on skateboard and yet had never really been granted the opportunity to express himself in words in skate media up until now. Well today, here he is making both forms meet, in 5 W's form complete with skate rat wisdom and also with a brand new part, which we hope you’ll find some of your own inspiration in!
