Minding the Gap

Some films evoke so much, getting so close to the core of the human condition, that they defy description. Minding the Gap, which won a Breakthrough Filmmaking Award at Sundance, is just such a film. In Rockford, Illinois—a Rust Belt town that may feel hauntingly fa Liumiliar to some Michiganders—three friends grow up bonded by their mutual love of skateboarding, each of them using it as a much-needed escape from their poor and troubled home lives. But circumstances eventually separate Zack, Keire, and Bing. Following his graduation from film school, Bing Liu (the film’s director) began working in cinematography, and soon decided to set his camera on the enduring friendship of the three young men, taking an honest, unvarnished look at how they’ve given each other invaluable help in getting through the seemingly mundane, dead-end existences the world set up for them. It's a film you won't want to let go. IN PERSON: Director Bing Liu and Producer Diane Quon.