Skateboarding film gets air at Nyack film fest, showcases Rockland kids from the '70s
NYACK - A community skatepark served as a backdrop for a special outdoor screening of the documentary, "Virgin Blacktop," which showcases a group of kids from Rockland's rivertowns who taught themselves skateboarding in the 1970s and dubbed themselves "The Wizards."
The free outside showing, which wrapped up the 10th annual Nyack International Film Festival Friday, took place just yards from the village's skatepark that was built through grassroots fundraising in 2015, when Nyack was enjoying a resurgence of the street sport.
In the hours before, Jamaal Bey, original member "The Wizards," gave tips to kids interested in learning to skate or build their skills.
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The kids in the original Wizards ranged in age from 7 to 16 and reflected Rockland's diversity, with young people of various racial, social and economic backgrounds.
They helped each other, and other Rockland kids, learn about the sport. Bey's continuing that support.
The Nyack resident, at 60, spends time on Saturdays and Sundays at the skate park, training a new generation of Wizards.
Ask him if he still skates. He'll gladly take his board for a spin, and throw in a few tricks too. "I've been skateboarding for over 53 years," he said. And he's been teaching others the joy of skateboarding for years.
On Friday, Bey was giving tips to kids who worked with him before and ones who came by to see the film. He asked kids sitting nearby, "Can you hop?"
Ariel Arqui walked over. He stood on one leg and hopped. Bey told him to do it again.
"That's an ollie without a board," Bey told the 10-year-old from Spring Valley.
Then Bey handed Ariel a board.
Within minutes, a once-apprehensive Ariel was doing ollie after ollie, his board popping in the air.
Charlie Samuels, an original Wizard, put together the documentary with archival footage. The film was shot almost entirely in Rockland, mixing contemporary footage and spectacularly dated 1970’s soundless Super 8.
Samuels took a break from readying his documentary for screening and watched Bey's lessons, smiling at his longtime friend's ability to get kids to try new tricks and build confidence.
Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland skateboard documentary 'Virgin Blacktop' shown in Nyack
