DOXA — Minding the Gap
Liu does a fabulous job of exposing the human experience on many levels, including child abuse, violence in the home, coming of age, and the dysfunctional family dynamics that we can all relate to at some level. And he did this over a six year period, which is how long it took him to make this film.
As a motivation for the film, Liu says that “I was physically disciplined by my step-dad, and it didn’t make sense to me…I wanted answers…[and] I saw myself in him (main character, Kiere).
Liu himself was a skateboarder, and at the age of fourteen, he broke his arm. He still wanted to hang out at the skate park (and not be at home), so he decided to film while he was there. This is how it all began.
All I can say is: GO! See this film. Immerse yourself in the characters, their relationships with their fathers, the role the community of skateboarders hold, and so much more.
