Following a trio of friends in Rockford, Illinois as they delight in the joys of skateboarding and come to terms with the reverberations of past trauma, Minding the Gap is the best documentary I’ve seen thus far this year. Bing Liu’s deeply personal story of friendship–or rather, reckoning with the friends that may not seem as familiar as they once were back in high school–is a visually stunning, emotional piece of storytelling. Following its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where it picked up the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking, Hulu and Magnolia are teaming for a release on August 17 and we’re pleased to premiere the theatrical poster.
John Fink said in his review, “What makes Minding the Gap so powerful and intimate is the presence of Liu, who uses his past connections to dive into his own family experience, confronting his mother and brother as the filmmaker breaks the third wall, revealing why he’s returned and documenting the process of healing. Setting itself apart from other rough and ready documentaries about lost youth coming into their own, the creative forces behind the lens slowly immerse us in the drama that happens once everyone leaves the skate park. A tour de force of documentary filmmaking, Minding the Gap is a lively, often beautifully shot film about a pit of hopelessness–from dead-end jobs to drunken arguments to bad decisions. This is modern day John Cassavetes with tattoos and punk music.”
See the exclusive poster premiere below, featuring our quote, and check back for the trailer tomorrow.
Minding the Gap opens on August 17.