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REBELS FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES

By Thomas GRUBE, Chad CHITTENDEN, Luca STEINER

BOOMTOWN MEDIA - as PROD / FIN

TV Series - Development 2020

Skateboarding will be an Olympic discipline in 2020. DEMARGINALIZED is an action-packed and haunting series about a young and inspiring European generation who experience their culture at a crossroads. A world driven by profit is about to be confronted by resilient warriors on skateboards.

- Year of production
- 2020
- Genres
- TV Series, Art - Culture, Documentary
- Countries
- GERMANY, FRANCE
- Languages
- ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN
- Budget
- 0.6 - 1 M$
- Duration
- 150 mn
- Director(s)
- Thomas GRUBE, Chad CHITTENDEN, Luca STEINER
- Cast
- Ivan FEDERICO, Candy JACOBS, Stefani NURDING, Danny LEON, Tyler EDTMEYER, Aurelien GIRAUD
- Producer(s)
- Uwe DIERKS (BOOMTOWN MEDIA), Thomas GRUBE (BOOMTOWN MEDIA)
- Synopsis
- The young protagonists come from Turin (IT), Tegelen (NL), Plymouth (UK), Lyon (F), Madrid (ES) and Lenggries (GER). They train on the streets, not in elite training centers. Some are supported by their families others have become accustomed to the lack of understanding in their environment. For all of them there is the same pressure that arises when rebellious freedom has to adapt to training and nutrition plans. It is by far not only in the dangerous dance on the board where the protagonists show their personality. Each one of them has the goal of mastering personal challenges in everyday life, and their paths cross again and again on the way to Olympic qualification. Life will change for everyone. Some will leave empty-handed, even if they have given everything. Some will not get their selfish pride under control or be forced to reevaluate their lives. Personal sacrifices will be necessary for the greater cause.
  
  No less captivating is feeling how the organizers stretch their limits to formalize a sport that started as a roadhouse for the culturally oppressed. In Europe, skateboarding as a discipline has so far had hardly any structures organized like traditional, top sports, and even more so, completely different structures from country to country. The raw history of European skateboarding culture is key to understanding the dilemma. Here the authentic identity of style and raw performance is the currency, and the word mainstream - a curse. Authority and private property are repressive concepts that are defied with chaotic creativity. Many in the subculture even believe that elite competitions only limit the freedom of imagination and the closely connected community. Does participation in the Olympic Games challenge all original values or does it open up completely new perspectives? Will skateboarders integrate, rebel or subversively contribute to changing the
  system from within?
  
  They are driven by the longing to leave behind limited conditions in order to realize themselves despite uncertain future perspectives. They come from different social, political and regional backgrounds, from different European countries, representing different world-views and family structures. With each episode, the path leads deeper into the individual conflicts of the protagonists. Resistance and firmness are subjected to rigorous tests. No matter whose tears flow or whose victories evoke euphoria, skateboarding will change dramatically.
  
  Evolution and innovation are initially perceived as a threat and it remains to be seen whether the revolutionary freedom of skateboarding can be maintained. But are the options really only to be maintained or to be lost in times of great change? The interests and values of this very own society must now be renegotiated before it becomes clear whether the once subversive youth culture can also open up new spaces of expression and development by participating in the Olympics?
- Partners & financing
- ZDF
  ARTE
  Mediaboard Berlin-Brandenburg
- Beginning of shooting
- Aug 15, 2019
- End of shooting
- Apr 30, 2020