website<\/a> where they post updates about screenings and online availability. \u00a0 I hope it does get seen because it\u2019s truly amazing.<\/span><\/p>\nThe hour-long movie tells the story of downhill skateboarding in the Santa Barbara hills. \u00a0It opens with a gorgeous aerial shot of the top of Gibraltar Road, one of the curvy mountain roads that twists and turns down from the top of Gibraltar peak. \u00a0Five skaters hi five each-other, then jump on their boards. \u00a0The camera drops to the road as though it\u2019s skater number six, following right behind, around each curve, past gravel slicks, into the dirt on the side. \u00a0The music rocks and the skateboards gain speed, steering with advanced techniques I\u2019ve never seen before, using brake pads on their gloves. \u00a0The movie then profiles some of the skaters, and we learn the story behind the dangerous sport. \u00a0Amid plentiful downhill following shots on the road, we also learn why and how it was banned. \u00a0The movie explains ongoing efforts to defend and legitimize it, including a well organized race.<\/span><\/p>\nOne of the main reasons this film is so thrilling is because of the cinematography — the downhill following shots are outrageous! \u00a0On a big screen, it actually feels like you\u2019re zooming down the hill, risking death with these guys. \u00a0It\u2019s kind of like a ski film, but because it\u2019s so smooth and up-close it\u2019s more like the Soarin\u2019 Over California ride at Disney California Adventure park. \u00a0Tom Flinchbaugh, one of the skaters profiled in the movie, is the man responsible for these incredible shots. \u00a0He was at the SBIFF world premiere to explain how he developed his technique of driving a car rigged with a DSLR camera five to ten feet behind the skaters. \u00a0He said he tells them to focus on riding and \u201cdon\u2019t look behind you.\u201d \u00a0Tom is the owner and operator of Santa Gnarbara Skate Media and Events, and this film is going to put him on the map.<\/span><\/p>\nAnother reason it\u2019s so thrilling is because this is really happening in our hills right now, yet hardly anyone knows about it yet. \u00a0I remember hearing on the radio last fall that the city banned downhill skateboarding, and my response was surprise: \u201cPeople are skateboarding down Gibraltar and San Marcos Roads? \u00a0That\u2019s crazy!\u201d \u00a0Yes, it certainly is crazy, but I agree with the skaters as they eloquently defend themselves in court, that it can be compared to the dangers of downhill bicycling. \u00a0In the film, the most persuasive supporters are the skaters\u2019 mothers who describe how their own attitudes changed from worry to support, and we see them helping during the races.<\/span><\/p>\nIn a sense – this movie is also a social justice film to educate people about downhill skateboarding. \u00a0Because the sport is not well known, there were few people involved in the city\u2019s hearings about banning it. \u00a0\u201cSkateboarding is not a crime\u201d was the most effective social justice slogan ever, and it was implemented by people who were teenagers in the 1980s. \u00a0Those people are in their 40s and 50s now, and some of them live in Santa Barbara. \u00a0If they see this movie, will they allow downhill skateboarding to be a crime? \u00a0It seems like this is the infancy of the ultimate rebel sport.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reviewed by Elizabeth Gain. \u00a0Viewed at the Metro 4 theater in Santa Barbara. Wheels Over Paradise was my favorite film I saw at SBIFF, and I have been telling people about it ever since. \u00a0Words like \u201cspectacular\u201d and \u201cthrilling\u201d get thrown around. \u00a0People are intrigued, and they ask where they can see it. \u00a0I send […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,3,272],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-documentary","category-films","category-santa-barbara-film-festival-2016"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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