United Skates

A celebration of a vibrant black subculture that also shows how discrimination can pervade even the most harmless pastime.

The documentary brings to the foreground a fascinating and, moreover, beautiful culture lurking in the background of other stories.

This is a passion project in the best sense of the word, a movie in which the ingenuity and dedication of the filmmakers illuminate the same qualities in their subjects.

Heavy subjects abound . . . but the directors dust the film in a sweetness that livens matters more often than it trivializes them. This is cinematic comfort food with substance.