Image by @ChristinekNg

The Newport Beach Film Festival Presents the World Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON

 A coming-of-age sports documentary about Brighton Zeuner, one of the best female contest skateboarders of her generation

Brighton Zeuner / Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON ~ Photo Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

We caught the World Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON on Saturday at The Newport Film Festival and we have to say, you need to see this documentary. We were around during the six-year time frame that the doc was being filmed so we thought going in we knew a lot, but there was so much else happening privately and this film sheds light on a lot of that. Being a pro skateboarder at a young age and having so much pressure on you as you head into the Olympics takes it toll. Brighton’s documentary is full of positive moments, but also a serves as cautionary tale for those on the outside looking in, as skateboarding heads to its second Olympics.

Featuring:
✨Brighton Zeuner @brightonzeuner
✨Bryce Wettstein @brycewettstein
✨Poppy Starr Olsen @poppystarr
✨Jack Zeuner @jacksonzeuner
✨Chris Gregson @tweestopher

THIS IS BRIGHTON is a coming-of-age sports 93-minute documentary about Brighton Zeuner, one of her generation's best female contest skateboarders. As skateboarding becomes an Olympic sport, this character-driven film reveals the anxiety and pressures of competition, the effects of social media, and how a global pandemic upended the promise of a young skater destined to be the best. Nearly six years in the making, by an all-female film team, the documentary features Newport local teen Brighton Zeuner as she figures out who she is and what skateboarding means to her. On Saturday, October 14, THIS IS BRIGHTON will make its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

"For six years, this amazing team of women have been documenting the skateboarding journey of my youth," said Zeuner. "I am so excited this film will be presented in my hometown at the Newport Film Festival in Newport Beach. Hope to see you there!"

When/ Where:  Wed, Oct 18th, 5:30 PM @ Big Newport 4

Tickets: Purchase tickets for Wednesday’s Show HERE

About the Filmmakers

Director, Beth Aala

Beth Aala is an award-winning Filipina-American documentary filmmaker with her hand in all aspects of production. In addition to directing and producing, she shoots and edits. She has won three Emmy awards and a Peabody Award for her documentary work at HBO. Beth recently directed and produced the feature documentary Made in Boise. The film premiered at AFI Docs in June 2019 and was the season opener for PBS's 2019-2020 award-winning Independent Lens series. It was honored as a 2020 News and Documentary nominee. Other film credits include Rancher Farmer, Fisherman, which she co-directed and produced and premiered at Sundance in 2017, and Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (A&E IndieFilms), which she directed and produced with comedian Mike Myers and Academy award-winning producer Caroline Waterlow. Supermensch is an intimate and entertaining portrait of talent manager Shep Gordon, the most famous man you've ever heard of. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013 and was nominated for the 2015 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, and won the 2014 Hollywood Film Award for Best Documentary. Beth has been supported by the International Documentary Association, Chicken & Egg, and ITVS and is an honored recipient of the NYSCA Artist Grant, a proud member of ADOC, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Filipinx Filmmakers, and is a Wyncote Fellow. Her work has been featured on HBO, PBS, A&E, Discovery, and MTV.

Producer, Caroline Waterlow

Caroline Waterlow is an award-winning documentary film producer based in New York City. Waterlow produced O.J.: Made in America, an ESPN Films documentary directed by Ezra Edelman and winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards. Most recently, she produced QUALIFIED, an ESPN Films 30 for 30 documentaries about race car driver Janet Guthrie, the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500. Feature documentaries include Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, directed by Beth Aala and Mike Myers, which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and the Academy Award-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. In 2013, she was the senior producer of content for MAKERS.com. From 2006-2012 & she contributed to multiple award-winning HBO documentaries, including Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush and TEDDY: In His Own Words.-30-

Lori Peltier, the force behind G.R.O.W in Houston, TX is upping the excitement for this years “Girls Roll On Wheels” event by inviting USA skateboard Olympian, Jordyn Barratt, to be the special guest. Barratt will be on hand to perform a demo for the crowd, sign autographs and give girls new (and some not so new) to skateboarding some encouragement and camaraderie.

G.R.O.W’s event takes place on Saturday, April 29 from 3-7 PM at the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark at 103 Sabine Street. All girls and all abilities are welcome to join in the fun, skate, watch and cheer each other on. This event happens just once a year and is so much fun!

Sakura Yosozumi, Sky Brown, Cocona Hiraki - Photo Chris Ortiz for Dew Tour

In some ways, the Dew Tour Women’s Park finals were almost a replay of what we witnessed at the X Games last weekend. Sky Brown and Sakura Yosozumi battling it out for the top two spots, Cocona Hiraki following right behind, and the USA skaters ending up solidly in the middle of the pack.

Sakura Yosozumi

Cocona Hiraki

Mami Tezuka

It was good to see USA’s Jordyn Barratt back in the mix, she held her own and threw down a great first run. Bryce Wettstein brought her own brand of magic to the comp and nailed it on her final run to secure that 5th place spot. As you can see, there was a big jump in scores from the podium skaters to the rest of the field. With Sky Brown absolutely knocking it out of the park on her third and final run it put Sakura at a bit of a disadvantage, had she made that 540 and the rest of her run she may have overcome Sky’s score. Stay tuned because the battle between these two will undoubtedly continue on through the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Sky Brown

Another surprise was Allysha Le in the announcers booth. So great to have a female pro skater in there calling out tricks and talking about their fellow skaters. We hope this momentum keeps going!

We thought it was time to revisit this amazing day we witnessed in 2016 at the Vans Pro Skate Series in Huntington Beach, CA. When this “new girl” dropped into the park and started skating, people wrongly assumed that Hanna Zanzi virtually came out of nowhere. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Hanna had been skating since she was a young kid tearing it up at CASL contests and all the other events meant for kids her age. After a few years of winning against the girls, and boys, she quietly slid out of the contest scene, but she still kept skating - for herself.

Hanna Zanzi - - Photo Ian Logan

Coming back and entering the Vans Pro Park Series was fun for her - win or lose, she was out to skate hard, try daring new tricks, and smile no matter what. She had a 100% “go for broke” attitude. Nothing was calculated, there were no specific runs in her head, she just skated. Hard. Girls who had been competing together often were upended by the situation of this “newcomer” in their midst. When she posted a huge score on her first run during the finals, that was it. She had the lead and was poised to win. After the last skater took their run and the scores showed that she was way ahead of the second closest skater, the crowd went wild and the tide turned. Hanna totally shook up the womxn’s competitive skateboarding circuit that day.

Podium - Jordyn Barratt 3rd, Hanna Zanzi 1st, Lizzie Armanto 2nd - Photo Ian Logan

We firmly believe that having open contests like this (as opposed to invite only) only makes womxn’s skateboarding that much stronger and pushes everyone a bit harder.

Know your women’s skate history and the stories that are buried a bit, like Hanna’s - it’s important.

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo: Ken Hada

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo Borqui

Photo: Joanne Barratt

Photo: Joanne Barratt

 I first heard about Jordyn when she lived in Hawaii. Even back then her name was known in skate circles here in Southern California. I waited eagerly for the day her mom moved them both over to California so Jordyn could start skating new terrain consistently. And guess what? She hasn't just been just "skating it" she has been tearing it up! Bewteen skating & surfing, the girl is a dual threat. I'm looking foreword to seeing what tricks she pulls out for the upcoming Vans Girls Combi Bowl Classic - I for one will be front and center cheering her on.

Name:  Jordyn Barratt

Age:  14 years old.

Home is: I just moved to Encinitas CA from living in Haleiwa, HI my whole life.

How Long Have You Been Skating?   I have been skating for almost 4 years .

Favorite place you've ever skated:  My favorite place that I have ever skated was at the US Open, Tony Hawk's vert ramp, and Bucky Lasek's bowl.

Favorite Trick: I really love to do long grinds.

Sponsors: Pink Helmet Posse, Boardstix, and Vans Shoes

Three Things You Don't Know About Me:

1. I am a vegetarian.

2. My best friend who lives in Hawaii is totally opposite from me and is such a girly girl!

3. My elementary school was called Sunset Elementary School and was right across the street from the world famous Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii and now I am in High School in California and my school is called Sunset High School.


What's Next:


Just a few weeks ago Exposure Contest happened in San Diego! It was a ton of fun! Everyone was skating so well and the contest was great! In mid-December I am going back to Hawaii to visit all of my friends! I can't wait to see them again and go surf every day in warm water! Then in January the Girls combi Bowl Classic is happening! I can't wait for that and I am really looking forward to seeing all the the girls… it is so fun when we all get together for a contest because we really have a lot of fun too! Until then I am going to try to get up to the Combi Bowl as often as I can!

Make sure you follow Jordyn on:  Facebook and on Instagram @jordynbarratt  and on her Blog