As an Army brat growing up on the outskirts of Guantanamo Bay, Mimi Knoop would obsessively spend her afternoons doing skate tricks in the concrete jungles around the base and watching lo-fi videos of professional teams like the Bones Brigade. And yet, for all of her passion, Knoop almost never entertained the idea that she might actually be able to become a part of it. She was a 23-year-old bartender in the Virgin Islands before she laid eyes on another female skateboarder for the first time in her life, but the mere sight of a girl riding a half-pipe on the bar TV was enough to change the trajectory of her entire life. She moved to California, won five X Games medals, and was chosen to coach USA’s first Women’s Olympic Skateboarding Team in 2019, an honor that reflected her tireless advocacy to get everyone a seat at the...
- 3/17/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Jessica Edwards is directing and producing “Skate Dreams,” an upcoming documentary about female skateboarders, as the first Olympic competition for them is underway in Tokyo.
Produced by Film First, the Brooklyn-based shingle Edwards founded in 2010, the documentary will chronicle the rise of female skateboarding from its origins to its international debut as an Olympic sport. It will profile six female skaters from around the world, including U.S. Women’s Olympic Skateboarding coach Mimi Knoop, who are on a mission to transform the sport into a more inclusive and diverse global community.
Gary Hustwit, director-producer of “Helvetica,” is serving as executive producer on the project.
“We’ve been working for a long time to create opportunities where none existed prior out of sheer necessity,” Knoop said. “As skateboarding makes its debut on the global stage, I’m excited to participate in a film that tells the untold story that led us to this moment.
Produced by Film First, the Brooklyn-based shingle Edwards founded in 2010, the documentary will chronicle the rise of female skateboarding from its origins to its international debut as an Olympic sport. It will profile six female skaters from around the world, including U.S. Women’s Olympic Skateboarding coach Mimi Knoop, who are on a mission to transform the sport into a more inclusive and diverse global community.
Gary Hustwit, director-producer of “Helvetica,” is serving as executive producer on the project.
“We’ve been working for a long time to create opportunities where none existed prior out of sheer necessity,” Knoop said. “As skateboarding makes its debut on the global stage, I’m excited to participate in a film that tells the untold story that led us to this moment.
- 8/3/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
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