Anyone that knows the cultural history of East Coast pushing knows that New York City skateboarding and jazz music go together like b-boys and cardboard mats, Yankees jerseys and pizza slices, peanut butter and jelly. It’s True York stuff, you know? But now it’s one thing to know it, and a complete other to capture and share it, especially in this high-definition age of 2016.
Thankfully, filmers like Emilio Cuilan and his recent full-length “Dany” dive into the nostalgia by tapping into the vintage analog powers of Sony VX cameras and Super 8 film. The result is an authentic feel and breath of Big Apple skateboarding as if it were still to pertain to the ‘90s “golden era” of freedom and exploration.
Although many do argue about progression versus nostalgia, often citing the latter as pretentious, vanity-based, or just plain being “stuck in the past”, it’s still pretty undeniable that taking the time, and risk to step out and do things the “old school” way always merits props. So respect to Cuilan and his cast of New York City skate rats like Shawn Powers of Palace Skateboards, Jason Byoun of Lurknyc, Genesis Evans, Yaje Popson, and Adam Zhu of Letter Racer for putting this down and out to the world.
Adam Zhu’s "Dany" part, featuring the jazz of Onyx Collective is the latest and third part to be released to the public. Prior released parts include Yaje Popson’s and Genesis Evan’s. Supporters can watch the entire film by purchasing it from the digital Dany store itself.
Watch Adam’s "Dany" part here.
