Skate Films as a Neorealist Form

A written accompaniment to the short film, ‘Skating is Neorealist’

After the end of WWII caused Italy’s government-run film industry to collapse, Italian directors were dispersed amongst the streets with nothing but their cameras. The reactionary cinematic style - neorealism - is thus defined by its unromanticized, “real” depictions of post-war Italian communities. Similarly, skateboarding and subsequent skate films are rooted in an American street culture defined by its gritty and rebellious style. In this skating film, similarities to neorealism are evidenced in low production cost, emphasis on social sentiments, and an undramatized narrative. 

To begin with the obvious, this is a student-made film, so the production budget was $0, and filming was done on-site. Instead of relying on expensive equipment, editing, and casting, the film takes a dirtier approach. When combined with the other aspects of the film, this cheapness (ideally) enhances the overall quality rather than degrading it because the point is to depict something real. The masses are not rich and spotless like a major motion picture. Additionally, the film underlines social sentiments. Set on a university campus, the main character discusses how skating is a force contrastive to college life. He emphasizes how the movement of his classes, deadlines, and finals feel so abstract, while the movement of his board is tangible. Similarly, shots of campus are shown in the daytime, and space is created within them. Only by night, when class is out, does the main character occupy those spaces. This embodies how many college students feel as they struggle to find authenticity amidst the real world. The final shots return in the day to spaces the main character took up at night, emphasizing the void that exists without his authenticity to fill them. Lastly, the film takes on an undramatized narrative structure, careful not to make the character a hero. By using longer shots that hold even when the character leaves them, the film humanizes him and places him in context. To that point, when the main character does speak, he is not chronicling a grand journey, rather, he is speaking candidly about his life and his relationship to skating. 

Ultimately, the low production cost, emphasis on social sentiments, and an undramatized narrative are not only staples of skate films, but also neorealist principles. The way they manifest in this film depicts a link between the two forms and goes to create that real, gritty, and relatable feeling that made neorealism such an impactful form of cinema.