In a place where walls may go up, locals in Punta de Mita unite through the love of skateboarding to demonstrate that together they could build better things – like a skate park.
In Build Ramps Not Walls, the documentary directed by Brian Adamkiewicz and produced by Rebecca Scotti, the cameras are focused on a community on Mexico’s Pacific Coast that created a skate nirvana out of an empty plot of land. The filmmakers shine a spotlight on this place that’s used the same materials proposed for a border wall but instead has people banding together to build a DIY skate park. From adults to children, the perspectives seen in the trailer are clear: Why build something to keep us apart when it could be a place where we can meet together over something we love?
To the locals, it makes more sense to create a place for all to come and have fun. The documentary and project began with a tight-knit Mexican and US skateboarding community as a response to the the negative political climate of the past election. The film incorporates footage of folks laying down concrete, working hard, and ultimately enjoying not only the payoff of creating Shore Skate Park but the process of collaboration. Mixed in with interviews, we see various perspectives of leaders and youth who came together and overcome social barriers to cultivate a place where they could share in the love of skating together. It’s a stark contrast to the refusal to open up to one another that divisive politicians engender to keep people afraid of one another. Here we see people learning valuable skills from each other and nurturing understanding through the construction of this community project.
Build Ramps Not Walls is definitely a documentary we’re looking forward to seeing. The trailer itself speaks to it’s mission: that the border could be a place of better use, where two places meet and extend together. And yeah, we had a huge smile the whole time while watching the trailer.