A joyous glimpse into skateboarding through the eyes of a global Muslim girls’ skate crew, as they find their feet through faith and sisterhood, tenderly redefining what it means to be a ‘skater.’ ——– Spanning 20 countries, the Skater Uktis (‘Sister’ in Arabic) is a global Muslim girls’ skate crew, inspiring each other through faith and skateboarding. Weaving together multiple narratives of girls at different points in their skate journey across Birmingham, NY, and Nigeria, we realise that even across borders, their ambition remains the same—they simply want to skate without the pressure of performance and public perception. As Aamina says, “Religion wasn’t the thing stopping me from skating—society and culture was.” Skate films historically portray a certain white, cis-male skater trope, and when they do depict Muslim women, it’s often only those with extraordinary skill, using hyper-stylized filming techniques. As Amna puts it- “muslim women skating is seen as if we’re trying to ‘make a statement of it’- we’re just skating.” And so, in this film, the girls never ‘perform’ to camera in choreographed portrait shots, but instead, we capture their natural interactions at skate meet-ups. Blending multiple personal journeys through self-shot iPhone videos, makes it loud and clear—this is their story, documented on their terms. In Yaz’s case, from skating alone in her backyard to inspiring other girls to come out and skate, is a testament to how, through sisterhood and faith, they tenderly redefine what it means to be a skater. SCREENINGS: Premiered at the Southbank Centre, Dialledin Unbound Archives, March 2024.

Directors: Mehek Azmathulla