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Andreas Trolf on Underskatement
After a long break Underskatement has now premiered its fourth installment of short films made by skateboarders. This time there was more entries than ever, and guys like Dan Wolfe, Jon Humphries and Bryce Kanights are among the directors. Tacky had a chat with Underskatement's Andreas Wolf to find out more about the festival.
| San Fransisco, USA, 06.12.07 written by Sigurd Tvete
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For those who don't know, what is Underskatement?
Underskatement is a traveling film festival featuring short films of many
genres made exclusively by skateboarders.
Who are the people behind it?
Andreas Trolf and David Franklin are the producers. Travis Kopach is the editor. Music is by John Dwyer.
What is your main goal for making Underskatement?
Money, drugs, and sex. But by "money, drugs, and sex" I mean "fun."
How was the preparations for the premiere in SF last weekend?
We didn't sleep for a few days. My eyes are still bloodshot from staring at a computer and there are many empty beers on the floor. We finished the DVD three hours before the premiere.
From "Lost in the Fog", by Dan Wolfe.
Photo: Underskatement.com
Why has there been such a long break since the last festival?
Both David and i work on many other projects of our own and it's just taken us this long to find a suitable time again to plan Underskatement and give it the attention necessary to do a good job. Adidas is helping out with expenses, which means we can devote more time to the festival without worrying about other work.
How many contributions have you received this year, and what is the quality of the work like compared to previous years?
We received around 75 short films from around the world, although most of the contributions came from the US. Since we've been doing Underskatement for a few years now we've developed a rapport with many of the filmmakers and have been working with many of the same people for a while now. This means that the aesthetic of Underskatement has grown and matured along with many of the filmmakers we work with. Although we've had high quality films since our first program, I can easily say that the overall quality of Underskatement and the films in the program is better than ever.
From "Awesome Time" by Laban Pheidias and Rob Collinson.
Photo: Underskatement.com
Are you aiming for a mainly skateboarding audience, or are you trying to bring skateboarding to non-skaters?
I expect we'll be most well-received by fellow skaters. I don't think we've set any sort of "bringing skating to the masses" agenda for Underskatement. All we ever set out to do was provide a forum to highlight the quality of films being made within the skateboarding community. Recently we've received a lot more press in the mainstream and there's been more interest from non-skaters. I don't think it's good or bad, one way or another. On one hand, yeah, it's nice to have a broader audience, but on the other i don't think i want Underskatement to be seen by someone outside of skateboarding as being skating's representative. We're just one small part of that. That being said, if the films reach somebody and they are inspired to skate or to make a film, then that's awesome.
Why are skateboarders so artistically talented?
I think that taking repeated slams jars something loose in your brain. We're terrible at math, though. Actually, no. I'm not sure I can answer that, although I think that skateboarders simply look at the world a bit differently than other
people. We're kind of forced to. I'm not sure you can credit the creativity to that, but I don't see a football film festival going on anywhere.
What do you think about non-skaters making movies about skateboarders? (E.g. Gus Van Sant with Paranoid Park.)
I think non-skateboarder-filmmakers see skating and skateboarders as an
interesting tool. Skaters have become a pop-cultural touchstone, although it's too easy to create one dimensional skater characters. It's too easy to flatten out a skater into over-simplified cliche. I applaud the effort by some filmmakers to show more full developed characters who also happen to be skaters. I do think Larry Clark should start hanging out with people his own age, though.
From "Behind the Griptape" by Rory Sheridan.
Photo: Underskatement.com
Where will the festival be touring this year?
We'll be showing underskatement in approximately 30 cities in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and South America. Check www.underskatement.com for details.
What, to you, makes a good seven minute film?
I think it's similar to what makes a good short story. Short stories and films don't give the director or a writer an opportunity to develop things as much as a novel or a feature film would. Instead, by limiting yourself to shorter work, you're forced to focus on a story that can be compressed and/or told differently. You have to include only the essentials, there's simply no room for superfluity. The best shorts, to me, are character studies. they're like jokes in that people are going to have certain expectations of a punchline; a quick and interesting resolution. There's only so much room, so you have to get to the point quickly or else the audience will stop caring. I'd much rather see one well-written character for seven minutes, doing something mundane, than see a roomful of shitty caricatures going on and on for 90 minutes.
David Franklin and Andreas Trolf from Underskatement.
Photo: Underskatement.com
Which skate film has the best non-skateboarding skits in it?
Video days. Well actually it depends on what you mean by "skate film". Thrashin' has some pretty good non-skating skits, and a couple of really great shots featuring boom mikes. Also, Josh Brolin is in it and he's excellent in the new Coen brothers movie.
Why should people around the world check out Underskatement?
What, like there's something better going on that night? Also, we encourage drinking in the theater.
Underskatement is touring now. For more info check out:
www.underskatement.com |
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Sick! Hope they come to London.
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Not to mention Tokyo! Good work, guys.
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ehmm, you should come to our filmfestival in Riga
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Good work, gentlemen. My phone has been ringing off the fucking hook since the premiere, just like you promised, Andreas.
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Wow, are we talking THE El Vortex here?
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Killin it Andreas!
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The T-shirt, Its all about the Underskatement T-Shirts.
The festival is better than the rest, not to toot my own horn ,BEEP BEEP but damn my film looks good on the big screen.
For those on the ropes to see it in other countries, its definitely worth checking out. Great Job David and Andreas!
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