ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
Paul is a deaf skater among mostly hearing friends at Burnside Skatepark. Often lost in translation, the Burnside community bands together to support him.

SYNOPSIS
Paul Johnson was raised at Burnside Skatepark in the lawless heyday of the early 90’s. As a lifetime skater who is both Black and deaf, Paul has had to navigate a world that is predominantly hearing and predominately white.

Over the years, Paul has found solace through his board, through broken conversations with hearing friends, and through the socially-acceptable abuse of alcohol. Paul feels most seen and heard when he’s around Bryan—who is also Black and deaf. The two friends find a safe space with each other that is otherwise elusive in their day-to-day lives.

Paul’s struggle with his sobriety parallels the growing pains the entire community must endure to clean up Burnside’s gritty reputation. Times are changing. A looming construction project on the bridge above the park threatens to disrupt an established, decades-long routine. In tandem, a new generation of young skaters are putting the pressure on Paul and the park’s OGs step it up as the adults in the proverbial room.

Paul has witnessed the spiritual and physical demise of many cohorts, and works to put structure into his life by way of a job, an apartment and a steady girlfriend. The process isn’t linear, but the realization continues to be clearer by the day: the time is now for elders of the community to ultimately make a choice between evolution or death.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Dan Eason
PRODUCER Dan Eason, Karlie Hustle
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Dan Eason
CO-PRODUCER Stefan Lerch

The Film Collaborative (TFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services for independent filmmakers. TFC’s federal tax ID number is 32-0295081. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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