Roller Dreams (2017)
Synopsis
The dream didn’t fade, it was taken.
It’s 1984 and Venice Beach, CA, is at the epicenter of a pop culture explosion. Young people of color seeking refuge from the turmoil of inner city life flock to the eclectic ocean community to create a brand new phenomenon: roller dancing!
The talent and vibrant personality of this roller ‘family’ draws massive crowds and influences Hollywood. But just as roller dancing flourishes, politics, money and gentrification conspire to take their dreams away.
Select Festivals
Sydney Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
BFI London Film Festival
BACIFI
DOXA
Melbourne International Film Festival
Bentonville Film Festival
Inverness Film Festival
Revelation Perth International Film Festival
Calgary Underground Film Festival
Salt Spring Film Festival
Byron Bay Film Festival
Omaha Film Festival
Olympia Film Festival
Minneapolis St Paul Film Festival
Twin Cities Film Festival
Credits
FEATURING James Lightning aka Mad, Sara Messenger aka Sally Piano, Terrell Ferguson, Larry Pitts, James ‘Jimmy’ Rich and Duval Stowers
DIRECTED BY Kate Hickey
PRODUCED BY Cecilia Ritchie, Diana Ward
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford
CO-PRODUCER Kate Hickey
FILM EDITING BY Rachel Grierson-Johns, Kate Hickey
MUSIC SUPERVISOR Tiffany Anders
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY Kathryn Bostic
CINEMATOGRAPHER Toby Oliver ACS
Additional Camera PETER BOROSH ACS, KATE HICKEY, DARREN ROARK, DIANA WARD, JAMES COSTELLO, ANDY TAYLOR
Sound Recordists JAKE BRICHTA, JOEY PAUL
Archival Research DIANA WARD, KATIE SCHWARTZ
Legals GEORGE RUSH, CLARE MIRABELLO, BEN CAMERON
POST PRODUCTION
Online & Mastering WONDERLAND POST
Post Production Supervisor DARREN ROARK
Post Audio ROCKETWERKS
Supervising Sound Editor GERRARD WHATLEY
Sound Design GARY ZACUTO
Re-recording Mixer GARRARD WHATLEY
Mixed at SHORELINE STUDIOS
Color by BUNTE FARBEN
Colorist PARISA REZVANI
Titles and Graphics JOE WALL
Stills Restoration JON HUNT
FILM CLIPS & POSTERS
The Savages © 1967 Courtesy Alan Gorg
Roller Boogie © 1979 Compass International Pictures, United Artists, MGM
SkateTown USA © 1979 Rastar Pictures, Columbia Pictures
Xanadu © 1980 Universal Pictures
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE
Rollerskaters On Thin Ice © 1994 Footage Courtesy Of KCOP Television Inc™ All Rights Reserved
Rodney King Beating Video © 1991 Courtesy George Holliday
Additional Footage Courtesy: ABC News Videosource, Action Sports, Getty Images, Kinolibrary, NBCUniversal Archives, Producer’s Library, Saul Rouda Film Archive, Shutterstock, Wazee
STILLS
Cher Venice Beach © 1979 Courtesy Douglas Kirkland
Los Angeles Census Map 1970 Security Pacific National Bank Collection Los Angeles Public Library
Police Shakedown During Watts Riot Dave Cicero, Herald-Examiner Collection Los Angeles Public Library
Line Around The Block At Largo Theater Harry Adams, Security Pacific National Bank Collection Los Angeles Public Library
Police And A Shotgun Seal Off A Street In Watts Milton Martinez, Herald-Examiner Collection Los Angeles Public Library
Angela Davis, Portrait Los Angeles Time Photographic Archive, UCLA Library © Regents Of The University Of Los Angeles, UCLA Library
African Americans In Protest March Against Signal Hill Police In Death Of Ron Settles In Long Beach, Calif., 1981 Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA Library © Regents Of The University Of Los Angeles, UCLA Library
Demonstration March Against Racism, Ku Klux Klan And Neo-Nazism In Oroville, Calif., 1982 Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA Library © Regents Of The University Of Los Angeles, UCLA Library
Additional Stills Courtesy: Herald-Examiner Collection Los Angeles Public Library, Library Of Congress, MPTV, Rich Mann Fine Art, UCLA Library, Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, USC Examiner Collection
THANKS FOR THEIR PERSONAL ARCHIVES
Morgan Saunders, Jeffrey Young, Diea Anszara, James Lightning, Nadine Kermabon, Sara Messenger, Christopher Ferguson, David Lang, Tara Cantone, Duval Stowers & Family
MUSIC
Original Music By Kathryn Bostic
“Breakout”
Performed By Arnie Love & The Lovettes
Courtesy Of The Numero Group By Arrangement With Bank Robber Music
“Everybody’s Doing It”
Performed By Inbassador
Courtesy Of The Numero Group By Arrangement With Bank Robber Music
“Once In A Lifetime”
Performed By Universal Togetherness Band
Courtesy Of The Numero Group By Arrangement With Bank Robber Music
“Kiss”
Written And Performed By Prince
“Real Thrill”
Performed By Universal Togetherness Band
Courtesy Of The Numero Group By Arrangement With Bank Robber Music
“Keep On Rollin”
Written By Joseph DiGirolamo, Steven DiGirolamo, Joseph Scarola
Performed By Hokis Pokis
Courtesy Ubiquity Recordings By Arrangement With Unistar Five Productions Ltd
“Good Time (Party)”
Written By Dewayne Sweet
Performed By HP Riot
Courtesy Ubiquity Recordings By Arrangement With B3 Vibes
“Dance To The Rhythm”
Written By Ellis Eugene Blacknell
Performed By Eugene Blacknell
Courtesy Ubiquity Recordings By Arrangement With Be Love Publishing Company And Ubiquitunes
“My Love For You”
Written By Renee Scroggins
Performed By ESG Published By Fire Songs Courtesy Of Mrmt Limited
“Midnight Rendezvous”
Written By Ken Crutchfield
Performed By Amythest
Courtesy Of The Numero Group By Arrangement With Bank Robber Music
“Nasty Rock”
Written By James L. Garrett Jr
Performed By P Crew
Courtesy Unidisc Music By Arrangement With Pigeon Toe Publishing
“Say It Loud – I'm Black And I'm Proud”
Written By James Brown, Alfred James Ellis
Performed By James Brown
Courtesy Universal Records Under License From Universal Music Enterprises By Arrangement With Warner Chappell And Dynatone Publishing Co
“Egypt Egypt”
Written By Greg J. Broussard
Performed By The Egyptian Lover
Courtesy Stone’s Throw By Arrangement With Embassy Music Corporation
“Early In The Morning”
Written By Lonnie Simmons, Rudolph Taylor, Charles K. Wilson
Performed By The Gap Band
Courtesy Island Records Under License 6 7 From Universal Music Enterprises By Arrangement With BMG Platinum Songs
“Crack Rock Ft Average Joe”
Written By Anthony Ray De Anzac Day, Roy Richard Johnson Jr And Ruben Rivera
Courtesy Extreme Music
“Help Me (Get It On)”
Written By Dewayne Sweet
Performed By HP Riot
Courtesy Ubiquity Recordings By Arrangement With B3 Vibes
SPECIAL THANKS TO Camille & Andrew Hickey Alyssa McClelland, All of our supporters on Kickstarter, Venice Beach Rollerskaters
THE FILMMAKERS WOULD LIKE TO THANK Jeffrey Young, Pamela Pine, Kyle Johnston, Dee Upshaw, Diea Anszara, Nelson Bracamonte, Carl Abrahams, Wendy Walz, Courtney Rae Ross-Tait, Christopher Ferguson, David Lang, Gracie Otto, Jeffery Rosenberg, Mark Rosenberg, Lisa Opfer, Jesse Martinez, Joe Schmo, Terry Caccia, Duke Rennie, Victor Ayala, Professor Jody Armor, Dr. Darnell Hunt, Bill Hallett, Jim Ball, Scott Nerdo, Wes Jones, Eric Brightwell, Fletcher Moules, Mistress Design, Maureen Marcellino, Sam Griffin, Jonathan Taylor, Finnegan Price, Darren Roark and all of our families and friends who’ve supported us throughout
© 2017 AQUARIUS FILMS
Our supporters on Kickstarter:
Chanel Gold, Mark McQuade, Lisa Opfer, Cheryl Gledhill, Chico Ramirez, Julia Seaman, James Kocsis, Shannon Mills, J. Walter Swartz, Sara, Camille, David, Mikito Kawasaki, Breckon & Celeste Jones, Brooke Schreier Ganz, Rachael Turk, Kate Fitzgerald, David Hooper, Cara Leitch, Iain Tait, Meghann Matwichuk, Francisco Alejandro Villa, Pippi Robben, passportjunky, DJ Fusion - FuseBox Radio Broadcast, Michelle Barrios, Jane Flanders, GIles Tuffin, Tim Patten, Halstead Frost, Bruce H Fulton, Groove Rider, Shannon Remsing, Gabriel Dowrick, Julius, Roberto de Roque, Heidi Quicksilver, Brooke Morris,Bryan Bergman, Kate Dinon,Jade Sims, ShimmerGeek, Monica Barratt, Robin Howson, Heather Shaughnessy,Felicity J,Kenn MacRae, Michael Kantor, Cate, Zoe Johnson, Gracie Otto, Alice Polkinghorne, Damian Walshe-Howling, Angela Ledgerwood, Sallyanne, Micha Savelsbergh, Anders Bouwer, Mick, Kathy Hickey, Annabel Osborne, Matthew Conrad, Kelley Whitis, Sarah Coates, Denis Thomopoulos, Liz Bowra, Charlotte Crivelli, S. Ryan Meyer, Lars Lehtonen, Tita Ortega, James Riding, Courtney Dawson, Michael Sharman, Mark Simpson, Faith M, Angelia Bisbee, Melanie Annan, Stephen Mellert, Ananda Jaynes, Steven Hanna, Saskia, Treva Wurmfeld, Todd Bartlett, Alison Byrne, Marla Boye, Wendy Walz, Ava Rollins, Mia Herron, Emily Dunn, Julie, Alyssa McClelland, Tauel Harper, Jennifer King, Phil Ward, Erica Lynch, James Reitano, John Yoshida, Matt Inglis, Emma Croft, Micheal Goodrow, James Rich, Liz Burnett, Ronda Flanzbaum, Molly, Jeff Rosenberg, Scott Saunders, Rena Durant, Scott Stegenga, Carla, Morgan Saunders, Bill Price, Christie Sirney Sparks.
Awards
Sydney Film Festival - winner Audience Award for Best Documentary
Calgary Underground Film Festival - winner Jury Prize Best Documentary
Watch
Follow Roller Dreams on Instagram: @rollerdreamsfilm