Not Your Mama's Roller Derby
Rolling with the Riveters. Dangerous?
Maybe. But more than that, addicting, titillating, edgy.
That was our first impression of Providence’s All-Star Roller
Derby Travel Team, the Riveters. We decided to follow the Riveters
to find out what Roller Derby entails. We found that the Riveters
garnish a small but dedicated group of fans and that Providence’s
Mayor David Cicilline loves Roller Derby. He even goes to bouts.
But still the Roller Derby remains largely invisible to most individuals.
| see images | view
trailer
Unlike the older Roller Derby played on a banked track with staged
confrontations with team members, current Roller Derby players work
harder on a flat track and the players are not remotely similar
to “older” perceptions of team players.
---except that the women are dedicated athletes.
We took our camera to bouts, to dances, to the New England Roller
Derby Conference held in Philadelphia, to community benefits sponsored
by the Providence Roller Derby Association to find out what makes
team members like Frida Destroyer and Lotta Pain tick. And we discovered
that in spite of bruises and other injuries that team members occasionally
sport, they continue to skate and to win bouts against other national
teams.
Not Your Mama's Roller Derby is a celebration of all that is fierce
and competitive and woman-centered.
Our new documentary, Not Your Mama’s Roller Derby, probes deep to answer questions that neophytes want to know about roller derby such as, “What drives women to skate?” and “Is roller derby a dangerous sport?” Yes, it’s not your mama’s roller derby — there are no alligator pits or staged fights, but it’s more than the old form of derby — it’s edgy and it’s totality misunderstood.
Not Your Mama’s Roller Derby examines the inception of Providence’s Roller Derby League, one of the earlier leagues to be established under the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Sara Doom, the birth mother of PRD, and other early league members such as Jailbird Jenny, describe the skills besides skating that were needed to make the league grow. And we turn our lens close-up on current PRD members to reveal other “secrets” of roller derby such as the rigorous training that players endure to become part of this elite league of fast-skating women.
We followed the league’s all-star team, the Riveters, to the 2008 East Coast Roller Derby Extravaganza held in Philadelphia to find out how the league’s all-star team matched up to other East Coast teams. Viewers become absorbed in derby drama as Dolly Rocket, the former Captain of the Riveters and now playing for Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls, competes with the Riveters in a killing match. The Riveters return home, and the audience learns important roller derby lessons about family and sisterhood. Watch our trailer and join us at the premier of the film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August. Check back for the premier date and other screenings dates of the film. And support your local roller derby team!
—Alexia Kosmider, Producer
We ask that you consider being one of the many individuals who has
helped support the vision of this film. Shifting Visions is 501(3(c)
company so your donations are tax deductive as well. We also invite
you to see our “teaser” and think about joining the
many fans of Roller Derby.
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Not Your Mama's Roller Derby:
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online trailer| Images
| Reviews
Purchase DVD | Useful links
