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Hill Street Skateboarding Documentary Poster - Skateboarding in Dublin, Ireland

Hill Street Documentary about the Rise of Skateboarding Culture in Dublin, Ireland

Hill Street is an Irish-made documentary about the rise of skateboarding culture in Dublin in the 1970s and ’80s that is now available on iTunes. The film revolves around the legendary skate shop opened by Clive Rowen on Hill Street in 1978. It documents the store’s seismic impact on the nascent skating scene in the city and the country as a whole, tracing the subsequent development of the scene as it deals with cobbled together facilities, hostile locals, and legal crackdowns. The story culminates with Tony Hawk (who is interviewed in the film) and his legendary Bones Brigade crew visiting Dublin, an event which goes down in Irish skating folklore. Hill Street is a fascinating insight into an aspect of skate culture and it’s just a great underdog story.

Hill Street is distributed by Wildcard Distribution. Wildcard Distribution is a film distribution company based in Dublin, Ireland that has released a wide range of documentary and feature films including the award-winning doc on the K2 disaster, The Summit.

Film Synopsis:

Hill Street looks at the evolution of skateboarding culture in Dublin since the late 1980s up until today. The initial driving force behind the scene was a proprietor of a unique skate shop in North Dublin inner city – ‘Clive’s of Hill Street’. From here, Clive Rowen single-handedly progressed the skate scene through the building of primitive ramps at the shop before graduating to a temporary skate park in the Top Hat Ballroom in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. Clive later managed to convince the Powell Peralta ‘Bones Brigade’ Team, including the legendary Tony Hawk, to visit the skate park for a historic demo. The film comprises interviews with key players in both the Irish and global skate community and features rare, never-seen-before footage. 

A fascinating look at the early stages of the Irish skateboarding scene that is as much a wonderful introduction to a rich subculture as it is an exploration of a sport trying to legitimize itself against the backdrop of 80s Ireland.

For more about Hill Street, please visit: http://hillstreetdocumentary.com/

For more about Wildcard Distribution, please visit: www.wildcarddistribution.com

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