VISION3 200T Color Negative Film 5213/7213  This Ain't
California Recalls 1980s Skateboard Subculture  Skateboarding in
the ‘80s (©Harald Schmitt) Skateboarding was seen as a
rebellious act in East Gemany. (©Wildfremd Production GmbHD.)
Felix Leiburg and Marten Persiel on the set (© Wildfremd
Production GmbHD). Scene from This Ain’t California (© Harald
Schmitt)    The kids are put under surveillance by the Stasi,
and the government, after first decrying the sport as decadent
and Western. The skaters from the East make contact with their
opposite numbers on the other side of the Iron Curtain, and
travel to Prague for a major competition that includes legendary
skaters from the West. Their journey home is bittersweet, as
they realize the full extent of the repression they’ve been
living under. At the same time, East Berlin is home.  The story
is told with a combination of actual home movies — the kids
loved their Super 8 cameras almost as much as their homemade
skateboards — archival footage, and new footage d