''Minding the Gap'' is a 2018

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Bing Liu and produced by Liu and Diane Moy Quon through

Kartemquin Films Kartemquin Films is a four-time Oscar-nominated 501(c)3 non-profit production company located in Chicago, Illinois, that produces a wide range of documentary films. It is the documentary filmmaking home of acclaimed producers such as Gordon Quinn ( ...

. It chronicles the lives and friendships of three young men growing up in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, united by their love of skateboarding. The film received critical acclaim, won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the

2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' T ...

, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2018 in film, films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During th ...

Summary

Bing Liu lives in Rockford,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, as do two friends he met through skateboarding: Keire Johnson and Zack Mulligan. As they reach adulthood, Zack becomes a father and gets a job as a roofer to support his family, while Keire finds work as a dishwasher. Over the course of the film, all three friends reveal that they grew up in abusive homes. Zack and his partner Nina begin to have difficulties in their relationship, and Bing learns that Zack may have been abusive towards Nina. A venture to create an indoor skatepark falls apart and Zack is left with fewer options. Nina repeatedly leaves him. Keire becomes a waiter and focuses on trying to educate himself. He grows apart from Zack and finds himself chafing against the racism of the town, which even comes from his friends. Though his father was abusive, he finds himself reflecting on positive memories of their relationship and the ways in which his father influenced him. Interspersed with Zack and Keire's stories is footage from an interview Bing Liu conducted with his mother, during which he asks her if she knew his stepdad (her second husband) had abused him when she was not around. She mentions that he was also abusive to her, but she stayed with him because he was sweet when he was not being abusive. Eventually, she breaks down crying, telling Bing she wants to help him recover but urging him not to dwell on the past. Zack and Nina finally separate for good, and they have a contentious relationship, with Nina filing for child support after Zack abruptly leaves the state. He eventually returns and slides further into alcoholism, struggling with how his decisions might affect his young son. In a final interview with Bing, Zack tacitly admits to hitting Nina when they were together. Keire finally earns enough money to move to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. A post-script reveals that Nina is pursuing a degree, Zack has been promoted at work, and Keire has been successful in Denver pursuing both his educational goals and a career as a professional skateboarder.

Release

''Minding the Gap'' premiered at the

, where it received the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking. In June 2018,

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

acquired its distribution rights, and the film was released theatrically and on Hulu on August 17, 2018. It aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

on February 18, 2019, as part of the network's '' POV'' series. In 2021, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

Reception

On the

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website

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, 100% of 128 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "''Minding the Gap'' draws on more than a decade of documentary footage to assemble a poignant picture of young American lives that resonates far beyond its onscreen subjects." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', '' Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the film an "astonishing debut feature", and "a rich, devastating essay on race, class and manhood in 21st-century America." Sophie Gilbert of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' called it "an extraordinary feat of filmmaking."

Richard Brody Richard Brody (born January 22, 1958) is an American film critic, filmmaker and author. Background Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York. He is Jewish and has personally identified as an atheist. Brody attended Princeton University, receiving a B ...

of ''

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'' wrote that the images of skateboarding "are merely the background and context for the film," whose "substance—domestic trauma, systemic racism, and economic dislocation—is also the very stuff of society, and the near-at-hand intimacy gives rise to a film of vast scope and political depth." Former

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

—and Illinoisian—

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

cited the film as one of his favorites of 2018.

Accolades

The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature and the Truer Than Fiction Award at the

34th Independent Spirit Awards The 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films of 2018, were presented by Film Independent on February 23, 2019. The nominations were announced on November 16, 2018 by actresses Molly Shannon and Gemma Chan. The ce ...

, and it was also nominated for five

Critics' Choice Awards The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

. It was named one of the Top Five Documentaries of the year by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

, won a 2018

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

, and won the

New York Film Critics Circle The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scho ...

's award for Best Non-Fiction Film. After being shortlisted, ''Minding the Gap'' was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

at the

."Free Solo" wins Best Documentary Feature-Oscars on YouTube
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References

External links

* * * * *
''Minding the Gap: What It’s About''
an essay by

Jay Caspian Kang Jay Caspian Kang (born December 31, 1979) is an American writer, editor, television journalist and podcast host. He is a staff writer at ''The New Yorker''. Previously he was an editor of ''Grantland'', a reporter for ''The New York Times Magazin ...