“I could seriously be on the verge of a mental breakdown, but as long as I’m able to go skate, I’m completely fine.”
And with that quote, you know exactly what you’re getting in the new Hulu documentary “Minding the Gap.” When the 17-year-old Keire says that at the end of the first trailer, he sums up everything that filmmaker Bing Liu is attempting to do with his new documentary about three young people and their passion for skateboarding.
No, “Minding the Gap” isn’t some history of skateboarding. And it isn’t some “cool kids doing cool skateboarding tricks” action film, either. What Liu has put together is a character study of three men and how life’s trials and tribulations have affected them, with skateboarding as their refuge from the drama.
“Minding the Gap” was directed by Liu, who has compiled over 12 years’ worth of footage for this upcoming documentary. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking.
“Minding the Gap” will be released on Hulu on August 17. If this trailer is any indication, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Compiling over 12 years of footage shot in his hometown of Rockford, IL, in MINDING THE GAP, Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends’ turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern-day masculinity. As the film unfolds, Bing captures 23-year-old Zack’s tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend deteriorate after the birth of their son and 17-year-old Keire struggling with his racial identity as he faces new responsibilities following the death of his father. While navigating a difficult relationship between his camera, his friends, and his own past, Bing ultimately weaves a story of generational forgiveness while exploring the precarious gap between childhood and adulthood.