Written for RAF News Sept 2018

Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) is a bit of a loner used to watching others from the outside, from the safe distance of Instagram, and much to the chagrin of her mother: she’s a skateboarder. It’s not long before Camille sneaks out from the protective care of her overbearing mother in Long Island to the spot Downtown where the crew that she follows are getting clips.

Skate Kitchen is the name of the real all-female group of skateboarders at the core of this film, not only can they skate, they skate well (or: shred). Delving deep into this subculture of NYC youths, there are a few layers of nomenclature to decipher but all of which introduces you to this world in a real and realised manner.

Recognised from her own posts online, Camille is quickly taken in and introduced to the gang complete with mouthy tom-boy and mute filmer – they’re a close bunch, not lacking confidence, and with a look that is pure 90s chic. The film is focussed on Camille’s journey of self-discovery drifting from her restrictive household to the embrace of this supercool possie of stylish hipsters. There is some boy trouble thrown in along the way in the shape of Jayden Smith’s Devon, but it doesn’t have the same organic flow.

Skating the streets, getting into scraps and getting stoned at each others houses, the skate crew’s interactions are funny and awkward with a naturalism that brings ordinary conversations to life. It’s this same realism that makes the more obvious dramatic scenes feel artificial, distracting from what is so interesting about this film.

Written and directed by women, there is a distinct female voice that shines as the group talk about sexual harassment and how tampons don’t actually cause the loss of limbs. Unapologetically standing up to others, the attitude of the girls reflects the film, or as one of the group so fittingly puts it: “It’s, like, feminism”.

A slightly overlong coming of age story that has been told many times before but from a perspective that has seldom.