Skate or Die

(2022)

project website

By the end of his teens, Leo Castillo has already endured more tragedy than most: witnessing an older brother killed by police, a younger brother wooed ever-closer to gang affiliation, an impoverished home-life and a father he's never known. Through this tumult, skateboarding has always provided him solace, a literal and figurative vehicle to escape the rampant violence of his southwest Chicago neighborhood. That is until one summer day, when a bullet rips through his calf, causing nerve damage and threatening his ability to ever skate again. Faced with this reality and armed with little more than street-smarts and the support of his best friend Beaver, Leo begins to forge his own unlikely path to adulthood. From helping spearhead the construction of a neighborhood skatepark to teaching his own after-school skateboarding class at the local high school, Leo discovers ways to transform a youthful passion into a productive future. But with each step forward, it seems a past he can’t quite escape keeps trying to drag him and his family back down.

Acclaimed by critic Richard Roeper in his 3.5 out of 4-star review as “an extraordinary piece of street-level filmmaking” and “a tough, sometimes heartbreaking, but also uplifting story with a raw power that few fictional works can match”  

Skate or Die was directed/produced and DP’d by Ryan Ferguson , produced by New York Times reporter Azam Ahmed, and filmmakers Jason Order and Nick Nummerdor, edited by Zebediah Smith, with an original score by Theo Katsaounis, sound design by Tim Edson, and art by Jourdon Gullett. The film received two grants, including support from the city of Chicago and successfully raised $36,000 on Kickstarter. The filmed premiered in 2021 at the SFDocs Film Fest and played in several other festivals internationally, winning the Best Documentary award at the Big Water Film Festival. A Flyback Production, 80 mins.