Recently, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk has been active on social media alluding to the impending end of his lengthy skating career. Beginning his professional career at the ripe age of 14, Hawk has established himself as the greatest skateboarder of all time and achieved things most in his position could only ever dream of; time is of the essence however and the accomplished skater is making sure to get the most out of his skateboard while he can. In the 40 plus years Hawk has spent skateboarding he has virtually revolutionized the entire sport, helping bring it to the mainstream and inspiring numerous generations of skateboarders who would come after him. Now skateboarding is present amongst all walks of life from the United States to China and everywhere in between, highlighting skateboarding’s status as an international sport and one that can be enjoyed by anybody with the passion to pick it up. This is made evident by a new project Netflix is releasing next month titled Skater Girl depicting the story of a young Indian girl who discovers her love of skateboarding, and they have just released the first official trailer for the film.
When most of us think of skateboarding our first thought is typically teenage boys zooming around a skatepark on a sunny afternoon. This is a close minded perspective however because skateboarding has transcended beyond American teenage boys and has become a global sport, set to make its debut at the Olympics in Tokyo this summer. Skater Girl seemingly understands that and utilizes a unique perspective to convey why some are so captivated by the sport of skateboarding: a coming of age story about a young Indian girl named Prerna, played by Rachel Saanchita Gupta, who uses skateboarding as an escape from her everyday life and becomes obsessed with the sport and the freedom it provides her. Amy Maghera is set to star alongside Gupta in the film that is currently set to be released on June 11th of this year.
Though the past year hasn’t given the world much to feel good about, if you watched the trailer you would find it hard to disagree that this is going to be a feelgood movie for anyone who opts to tune in. The film focuses on not only the main character’s experience with skateboarding but an entire community of Indian kids who are experiencing the sport’s joy for the first time that is sure to warm the hearts of anybody with a soul. Netflix has been on an impressive run this past year providing content to customers who have been stuck inside under quarantine and they’ll seemingly be extending that run with Skater Girl. Customers of the streaming service can plan to watch the new film in a few short weeks.
