Female Skaters in Athens

A short documentary provides an insight into the life of young female roller skaters in Athens.

Since its economic crash in 2009, Greece has had the highest youth unemployment in the European Union. Athens’ young people have to be creative to fight the insecure financial situations and to be strong in chasing their dreams.

Roller skating is empowering, this is the message of the wonderful short documentary “Athena Skates”, directed by Elliott Gonzo, with his team at Hijra Collective. The film follows a group of young female roller skaters in the Greek capital on their journey to hidden skate spots and open spaces.

The protagonists express, what it means to be a young women in Greece today and finding a way to do something they love, despite all the challenges.

One of the locations is the derelict Ellinikon Airport, abandoned since 2001. The planed conversion of the airport to a luxury coastal vacation resort, starting in 2020, underlines the dislocation in the Greek society, where young people are searching for their place. Skating is something they can belong to.

Athena Skates was made for Red Bull Storytellers, a new program to develop emerging filmmakers.

Picture: Athens Ellinikon Airport by Dennis D. Auger. Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository.