Recently I caught up with Stacy Peralta (Riding Giants and Dogtown and Z-Boys), one of my favourite extreme sports documentary filmmakers, about his documentary Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. A pro-skater in the 70s, Peralta created his own team of very young skaters in the early 80s called the Bones Brigade who went onto become household names – and still are today. Interestingly, Peralta didn’t want to make this documentary, but Tony Hawk and other original members of the Bones Brigade felt it was time to share their remarkable story. Read my blog onThursday 20^th, as Peralta shares his thoughts with me on the making of this personal film. 

Here are my picks for the week. 

Recently I caught up with Stacy Peralta (Riding Giants and Dogtown and Z-Boys), one of my favourite extreme sports documentary filmmakers, about his documentary Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. A pro-skater in the 70s, Peralta created his own team of very young skaters in the early 80s called the Bones Brigade who went onto become household names – and still are today. Interestingly, Peralta didn’t want to make this documentary, but Tony Hawk and other original members of the Bones Brigade felt it was time to share their remarkable story. Read my blog on Thursday 20^th, as Peralta shares his thoughts with me on the making of this personal film. 

Here are my picks for the week. 

Starring: Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen
Directed by: Stacy Peralta
Screening: Thursday 20^th March, 8.30pm

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography tells the story of how in the 80s a group of young teenage misfits who loved to skate, went on to become some of the most recognizably names in the sport today. Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Tommy Guerrero and Lance Mountain were all members of the Bones Brigade, a team of skaters brought together and nurtured by ex pro-skater Stacy Peralta. These guys re-invented and re-invigorated skating in the 80s and now they’ve come together to tell their surprisingly moving story with honesty and emotion. This crazy ride isn’t just for skaters; anyone who remembers the sartorially challenged 80s will enjoy this film just for the archive footage.

War Witch (2013)

Starring: Rachel Mwanza & Serge Kanyinda
Directed by: Kim Nguyen
Screening: Tuesday 18^th March, 8.30pm

This compelling and devastating drama about child soldiers in Africa will put your first world worries into perspective. Written and directed by Montreal-based filmmaker Kim Nguyen, War Witch tells the story of Komona, a 14-year-old African girl forced to shoot her parents and become a child solider. The film was shot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and yet this story isn’t given a specific location. Rachel Mwanza who plays Komona is new to acting, and yet she takes on this incredibly heavy, nuanced role like a professional. Amazingly too, Kim Nguyen manages to create a film that is interspersed with humour and gentle romance amidst tragedy and despair; this is a truly rewarding drama. 

Starring: Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones & Colin Moy
Directed by: Peter Webber
Screening: Saturday 22^nd March, 8.30pm

In this historical drama, an American military expert (Fox) must determine the mood of the Japanese people after it’s surrender in 1945, in order to advice General MacArthur (Jones) as to whether they should save or punish the Japanese Emperor. The film was shot in Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland, and half the fun is in spotting familiar locations such as King’s College, Auckland University Railway Campus, Monte Cecilia House and the Auckland War Memorial Museum. New Zealand’s own Academy Award winning production designer Grant Major, costume designer Ngila Dickson and Oscar nominated cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh also worked on this film, and were instrumental in convincing its producers to shoot the film here.