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The 30th Anniversary screening of The Search For Animal Chin at The ShowRoom Cinema on Cookman Avenue launches Rolling! Asbury Park.

The nomadic skate everything in their path film centers around the Bones Brigade and their journey to famed skate spots in California, Nevada and Hawaii to find a Chinese elder.

The screening is among three films that will be shown in support of a new collaborative working on behalf of the city’s youth.

“While Asbury Park is currently experiencing a tremendous renaissance as a Jersey Shore tourist destination, the youth in the community are not necessarily being reached by this revitalization in a direct, transformative way,” the team said in a written statement. “Parents are often looking for the availability of activities for children, a matter that both skateboarding and the film camp help address.”

Rolling! Asbury Park is not only a series of three film screenings and talks but offers a short filmmaking challenge, all with the goal of creating a film and video production summer camp by 2018.

“Since 2009, The ShowRoom Cinema has always been open to educational and youth-focused activities, this was one that we felt fit our goals of promoting film appreciation while serving Asbury Park’s youth, “ said Nancy Sabino, cofounder of The ShowRoom Cinema.

The concept is the brainchild of Carrie Turner, former Madison Marquette general manager, in partnership with Sabino and ShowRoom cofounder Michael Sodano. It is supported initially by a $5,000 grant from Interfaith Neighbors.

“Kids in the park are often filming themselves and their friends,” said Turner, who was instrumental in creating Forth Union, the temporary skatepark located in the historic Carousel building.  “When Mike and Nancy mentioned starting a film academy for Asbury kids, it struck me that there could be great overlap in our audiences.”

Rolling! Asbury Park marries film with recreation and youth education, organizers said. The team behind initiative also includes Jeffrey Regis, Director of Sports Marketing for Red Bull North America who recently moved to Asbury Park; Derek Rinaldi, nationally recognized skater and Forth Union adviser who helped form the NJ chapters Boards4Bros and A.Skate; and Chris Nieratko, former editor of Big Brother magazine and co-owner of NJ Skateshop.

“Skateboarding and all of the great things that come with it – art, music, media, and film – have been a major catalyst for the careers and lives that many of us have created and reaped benefit from,” Regis said. “Being an adult that not only continues to participate in skateboarding on a daily basis, but someone whose profession involves advancing skateboarding, I feel that it is important that I give back. Providing insight, knowledge, and access to resources is important to support grass root programs that not only focus on skateboarding, but at-risk youth, youth mentorship, and workforce development. I’m excited to support and develop ROLLING! ASBURY PARK to become a great and sustainable community program.”

The July 20 screening of The Search For Animal Chin will be held at 7:30 p.m. at The ShowRoom Cinemas, located at 707 Cookman Ave. Tickets are $12.

Next up will be the Aug 17 director’s cut of the Brian Anderson [at right] on Being a Gay Professional Skateboarder documentary. A post film discussion moderated by Nieratko features Director Giovanni Reda and Anderson himself.

On Sept 14 there will be a 10th Anniversary screening of Epicly Later’d documentary on pro John Cardiel [below right] rise and the accident that almost left him paralyzed, with a post discussion featuring Director Patrick O’Dell and Nieratko.

The short film challenge:

Participants will produce a 3-minute film in Asbury Park within a 72 hour timeframe. The goal is to engage the young people of the skateboarding community and filmmaking enthusiasts who might have an interest in the summer film camp,organizers said. Details of the competition, slated for October 6 for 9 – details to come soon.

The Rolling! Asbury Park Summer Camp:

The film camp aims to expose teens to the varied creative and team-building aspects of video production, organizers said in a written statement. Through hands-on training, the camp will teach participants the art of storytelling, the basic skills, and how to work as a team in order to create a story arc that extends beyond the simplistic ability to capture a subject with a camera phone.

For more about Rolling! Asbury Park screenings, visit theshowroomap.com.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the new collaborative. For more info, click here.

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