SKATE DREAMS | a documentary about the rise of women’s skateboarding

Directed by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Edwards, SKATE DREAMS profiles women skateboarders, from trailblazing pioneers of the 1980s to the next generation of Olympic contenders, as they defy industry gatekeepers and fight for professional equality. The film features some of your faves; Nora Vasconcellos, Nicole Hause, Jaime Reyes, Mimi Knoop, Cara-Beth Burnside, and tons more. It also features original music by the Brujas, with their first-ever film score.

The idea for the film first came about in 2018 when Jessica Edwards’ 6-year-old daughter wanted to try skateboarding. “My first instinct was to say “Skateboarding isn’t for girls!” since that had been my experience growing up.” Jessica was pleasantly surprised when she registered her daughter for an after-school program. “I quickly realized how wrong I was. When I was growing up in the early 90s, skateboarding was for dudes, usually stoners, who smoked in the back of my high school. But this contemporary crew of kids was different. There was a level of acceptance and community that I didn’t recognize when I was younger.”

“When I started looking for information on the history of women in the sport, there was very little out there, but on Instagram, there were non-traditional skaters EVERYWHERE, all over the world. It was incredible. It was like finding a secret club.” That’s when Jessica began thinking about a long-form documentary looking at the rise of women’s skateboarding. “Any story that shines a light on underrepresented communities is important to share, so we set out to follow that story.”

Making the film came with many challenges, including 18 months of lost filming and post-production due to the pandemic, and the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics—a significant milestone in the rise of women’s skateboarding.

When it came to editing, Jessica and her collaborator Maya Tippett worked hard to make sure the story they were telling was authentic and diverse in its voices and representation. “Creatively, the biggest challenge of making SKATE DREAMS was deciding what to leave out. Because skating isn’t one thing for everyone, we had to figure out how we would tell the story of women’s skateboarding in a way that honored and acknowledged the experience of a wide range of skaters.”

“One of the most disappointing parts of making the film was when one of the stories that we had followed for over a year ended up on the cutting room floor. The story of the Freedom Skatepark in Accra, Ghana which was built by Skate Gal Club and Sandy Alibo didn’t make it into the film. I was so so sad about that one. I hope I’ll make that material into a short someday.”

SKATE DREAMS is now available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vimeo, DirectTV, Xbox, and Google Play.