Podtalk: Arthur Swidzinki of Film ‘Shred America,’ Premiering in Chicago on March 24, 2018

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – It was the age of innocence, way back in 2008. Social media was a fledging duck, GPS was in its spare infancy and ride service didn’t exist… what better time for four dudes to skateboard from Chicago to New York City. “Shred America” is the film documentary story of Arthur Swidzinki, Michael Kosciesza, James Lagen and Anthony Michal in 2008, as they did what many twenty-year-olds have done throughout time – just say “what the f**k” and go for it, then film the results. “Shred America” premieres at the Patio Theatre in Chicago on March 24th, 2018 (details below).

The Fab Four On the Road in ‘Shred America’
Photo credit: David A. DeNoma

It took ten years to get to the screen because life happens, and the hours of raw footage were daunting. But Arthur Swidzinski (director) and Michael Kosciesza (editor) finally figured out how to arrange the 100 hours of the skateboard trip that James Lagen and Anthony Michal – the primary cameramen – shot back then, and created a cinema verité vision (a fancy term for truth) of the many wild events in the journey. It is funny, touching and kind of crazy, but it’s also a nostalgic look at how much has changed in our strange world, and how refreshing it was to say, “what the f**k.”

In the following Podtalk, Arthur Swidzinski, the director of “Shred America” talks about the culture of skateboarding, how it influenced the Chicago-to-NYC journey and what it was like to look back at that youthful energy… since it happened to himself and his friends.

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com