Filmmaker to attend 'Skate Odyssey' screening

SUNY Adirondack will hold a screening of the coming-of-age film “Virgin Blacktop: A New York Skate Odyssey” at 7:30 p.m. March 27 in the Northwest Bay Conference Center in Adirondack Hall.

The documentary follows a crew of suburban New York City kids who met in 1977 through their passion for skateboarding. Despite their vastly different ages, races and economic backgrounds, they formed a competitive traveling team of spirited outsiders called the “Wizards.” Now, nearly 40 years later, they remain lifelong friends, but their lives have followed very different paths — from boardrooms to jail cells.

Award-winning director and photographer Charlie Samuels got his start shooting the burgeoning New York City skateboard scene for Thrasher magazine. Assignments then came from Sports Illustrated, Elle, Time, Vogue and The New York Times.

The screening, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the College’s Professional Development Committee and endorsed by the Student Senate. The film is 83 minutes long and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Samuels.

For more information, contact coordinator Jeffrey Bittman, associate professor of Business and a member of the Professional Development Committee, at 518.743.2200, ext. 2267 or at bittmanj@sunyacc.edu.