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A little sweeter than your average skate video, this brand new short film by Uukhai, a Mongolian skateboarding association, sheds an intimate, honest and unpretentious light on a burgeoning community in Ulaanbaatar. The video features interviews with skaters involved with the organization, and tons of footage of street skating shot this summer. This look at a blossoming scene is the perfect inspiration for the jaded. Their old school is young, and they are devoted to bringing up brand new skaters. It’s also become a focal point for expatriates and repatriates. Take nothing for granted, certainly not your pristine sidewalks! Uukhai is working to raise funds to provide young skaters with decks, components, and eventually an indoor skatepark. Support from abroad is very much welcome, and rarely bestowed on this community. In a city that offers young people very few creative outlets, Uukhai is supporting skating for all the right reasons, and could use your support as well. Dig in! – THE UUKHAI DOCUMENTARY travels time to bring you the past, present and future of skateboarding in Mongolia. As it is a brand new sport and lifestyle, success is inevitable. Original and local skaters of the city of Ulaanbaatar, explain their perceptions of skateboarding on how it changed their lives and what it could do for the young guns to come follow in their footsteps. Step into their lives and get a firsthand look of what it takes to be an upcoming skateboarder in the dusty, rugged and cold streets of the historic country that is Mongolia. DIRECTED BY Odmandakh Bataa PRODUCED BY Uukhai NGO FEATURING Erdenedalai Purev Enkhjin Batnasan Sergelenbayar Batjargal Odmandakh Bataa Batbayar Lkhamsuren Malou Rose Binderiya Sanduijav Tobias Ulbrich Munki Lhagvasuren Aaron Szott Albert Morgado Jack Arendt Ankhbayar Ch. Bilguun S. Tengis B. Orgilsaikhan N. FILMED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan EDITED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan SECOND CAMERA Erdenedalai Purev Sergelenbayar Batjargal STILL PHOTOGRAPHER Enkhjin Batnasan Malou Rose Sergelenbayar Batjargal TEAM MANAGER Malou Rose email: uukhaiskateboarding@gmail.com
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A little sweeter than your average skate video, this brand new short film by Uukhai, a Mongolian skateboarding association, sheds an intimate, honest and unpretentious light on a burgeoning community in Ulaanbaatar. The video features interviews with skaters involved with the organization, and tons of footage of street skating shot this summer. This look at a blossoming scene is the perfect inspiration for the jaded. Their old school is young, and they are devoted to bringing up brand new skaters. It’s also become a focal point for expatriates and repatriates. Take nothing for granted, certainly not your pristine sidewalks! Uukhai is working to raise funds to provide young skaters with decks, components, and eventually an indoor skatepark. Support from abroad is very much welcome, and rarely bestowed on this community. In a city that offers young people very few creative outlets, Uukhai is supporting skating for all the right reasons, and could use your support as well. Dig in! – THE UUKHAI DOCUMENTARY travels time to bring you the past, present and future of skateboarding in Mongolia. As it is a brand new sport and lifestyle, success is inevitable. Original and local skaters of the city of Ulaanbaatar, explain their perceptions of skateboarding on how it changed their lives and what it could do for the young guns to come follow in their footsteps. Step into their lives and get a firsthand look of what it takes to be an upcoming skateboarder in the dusty, rugged and cold streets of the historic country that is Mongolia. DIRECTED BY Odmandakh Bataa PRODUCED BY Uukhai NGO FEATURING Erdenedalai Purev Enkhjin Batnasan Sergelenbayar Batjargal Odmandakh Bataa Batbayar Lkhamsuren Malou Rose Binderiya Sanduijav Tobias Ulbrich Munki Lhagvasuren Aaron Szott Albert Morgado Jack Arendt Ankhbayar Ch. Bilguun S. Tengis B. Orgilsaikhan N. FILMED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan EDITED BY Odmandakh Bataa Enkhjin Batnasan SECOND CAMERA Erdenedalai Purev Sergelenbayar Batjargal STILL PHOTOGRAPHER Enkhjin Batnasan Malou Rose Sergelenbayar Batjargal TEAM MANAGER Malou Rose email: uukhaiskateboarding@gmail.com
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Some of you might recall that I assembled a program of skateboard videos that played in Chicago back in April. Named Animal Style after the famous Search for Animal Chin, it was a way for me to put the spotlight on some rad Asian and independent filmmakers who just happened to be my friends. Well, now there are two more chances to catch it, as remixed lineups have been announced in Honolulu and San Diego. The core of  arthouse-meets-funhouse pairing of The Working Man and Perfect Timing and Windy City documentary with 20 years of footage The Brotherhood: Chicago has been kept intact, now bolstered by a double-header of skate rock (Traveling Sounds with Ray Barbee and Wide Angle Sounds: Mario Rubalcaba), a skating vs. comedy throwdown in Willy Santos vs. Jo Koy, and a Sampler by Honolulu’s Treevisions crew. The Honolulu screening will also include a bonus feature on local skater/musician Anton Glamb’s First Day of Summer. I’m super excited to not only give my talented friends run for their great work once more, but also to hit the road with many of them. The dates are as follows: October 19, 2012 – Hawaii International Film Festival November 3, 2012 – San Diego Asian American Film Festival Who knows if I’ll ever be invited to do anything like this again, so I hope you click on the links, plan to attend, and get inspired to skate, make movies, or just say hi.
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