Revisiting Director Bing Liu on ‘Minding the Gap’

The documentary ‘Minding the Gap’ starts as a look at young skateboarders in Rockford, Illinois. Life is coming at them fast, and all they really want to do is skate.

The film checks in with the young men--Zack, Keire and director Bing Liu himself-- from time to time, and as the years go by, we learn fun-loving Zack is about to be a dad, but he’s still grappling with his own difficult childhood. And Keire is just beginning to talk about his own troubled youth with an abusive father.

‘Minding the Gap’ began as a skateboarding film that Liu started making when he was a teenager, though he had no idea what it would eventually become: an Oscar-nominated documentary and a Peabody Award winner.

Kim Masters is a member of the Peabody jury and while she’s away, attending the gala where ‘Minding the Gap’ will be honored, it seemed like a good time to revisit a conversation with liu.

Liu sat down with KCRW’s Matt Holzman last summer. They talked about Liu’s early days filming skate videos, meeting documentary icon Steve James, the power of the band The Mountain Goats, and Liu’s decision to ultimately include himself in his film.