Onassis Channel | “The Invincible Summer” by Evan Maragkoudakis and Oisín Tammas
A mobile skatepark in Athens, a group of young people teaching refugee children to skate, a camera following their journey. A political, sensitive, redeeming short documentary that talks about the small utopias forming in the heart of contemporary societies in turmoil.
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I don’t know something better to do in this world – a world so rotten sometimes – than to help.
What keeps our cities from collapsing? How does a forsaken piece of shared public space become a springboard for change? Why some people care more than others? How far would you go to make a change? These are some of the questions that came to me when I first heard the story of Will and Ruby, the two young English co-founders of the skateboarding NGO Free Movement Skateboarding. From Palestine and SkatePal to Greek squats and social kitchens, Will and Ruby always searched for ways to contribute to societies that sought both a helping hand and a collective way of thinking. That alone was enough to make me follow them and document the impact they had on my own society. Through the skateboarding lessons they offer with their mobile skatepark all over Athens, Free Movement Skateboarding contributes to the socialization of young refugees and Athenians.
The aim of any project is to remove yourself from it. The objective should be to try and pass it on to local people.
“The Invincible Summer” documentary follows the British co-founder of Free Movement Skateboarding, Will Ascott, as well as two young Athenian instructors, Denia and Yannis, and portrays their unwavering dedication to the children they work with. The film, which calls on the Algerian-French philosopher Albert Camus’ quote for its title, reminds us how even in the ‘deepest winters’ there is still an enduring light that guides us through struggle.
Credits
THE INVINCIBLE SUMMER
A film by THE SKATEROOM
Written & Directed by
Evan Maragkoudakis & Oisín Tammas
Cinematography
Evan Maragkoudakis
Additional Footage
Yannis Papanastasopoulos
George Yannakopoulos
Edited by
Evan Maragkoudakis
Sound Mix
Chris Vlachos
8YARD Studios Athens
Film Lab
Mutascan Helsinki
@freemovement__sb
theskateroom.com
@theskateroom
Special thanks to artist Cindy Sherman and Hauser & Wirth for their continuous support of Free Movement Skateboarding, via THE SKATEROOM.
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