In her 19-minute film, the Assistant Professor of Communications Nicole Triche examines the life of Doris Jenkins and the role her 53-year-old roller skating rink played – and continues to play – in its Topsail Beach, N.C., community.
Assistant Professor Nicole Triche, an independent filmmaker, acknowledges she is often drawn to strong female protagonists.
“I find myself interested in women who don’t have a typical job,” said Triche, a few days before her film, “All Skate, Everybody Skate,” was set to show at this weekend’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham.
Interest in the 19-minute film highlighting Doris Jenkins and her 53-year-old roller rink is so high, its two screenings – slated for Friday, April 7, at 4:10 p.m., and Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. – are already sold out. Fear not, movie enthusiasts, the film has also been accepted into the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem and Indie Grits Film Festival in Columbia, South Carolina. A full listing of dates and show times are noted below.
The inclusion of “All Skate, Everybody Skate” in the Full Frame Festival is a noteworthy accomplishment considering the international event drew more than 1,700 submissions, but selected approximately 70 films. In addition to screening her film, Triche plans to attend the festival, accompanying members of the elondocs production program that she oversees.
For Triche, the film’s screenings are the culmination of a few years of work after a friend first planted the idea to highlight the Topsail Beach skating rink, its connected postal office and the woman who runs both facilities. A preview of “All Skate, Everybody Skate” is available online.
A self-professed roller skating fan, Triche eventually decided to make the idea a reality and filmed Jenkins and the rink from March 2015 to September 2015, then edited the project the following year in between her class schedule.
“When I went to the rink a few years ago, I fell in love with it,” Triche said. “It just stuck with me, so I started investigating it further.”
“Once I started researching her and reading the press, I found Miss Doris to be an incredible woman,” she said. “I’m interested in women who are working outside of the home in interesting jobs. And think about all of the women you know who are in their 70s, how many of them have owned their own business their entire lives?”
This focus on strong, independent women is common in Triche’s work. In fact, she herself noted similarities between Miss Doris and one of the main characters of her 2013 film “Taxidermists,” which featured Wendy Christensen, another female with a unique passion.
While the professor handled the brunt of the “All Skate” work – directing, producing, shooting and editing the film – she did enlist the help of Elon alumnus Matt Carter ’14 to do additional camerawork.
The result is a moving narrative that weaves together pivotal moments of Jenkins’ life, including her courtship and marriage to her ailing husband, while also detailing her responsibilities running a post office substation and the rink above it.
“Miss Doris just doesn’t stop, and she’s not aging,” said Triche noting a prevalent theme in the film. “She skates every night and just keeps going. It is great to see a woman of her age doing it her own way.”
In advance of the film’s festival screenings, WUNC’s “State of Things” interviewed Triche during its March 30 program. For more information regard the film, visit its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Screenings
RiverRun International Film Festival, Winston Salem
Friday, April 7, at 3 p.m. – Hanesbrands Theater
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham
Friday, April 7, at 4:10 p.m. – Cinema 4
Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. – Full Frame Theater
Indie Grits Film Festival, Columbia, South Carolina
Friday, April 21, at 2 p.m. – The Nickelodeon BCBSSC Theater
Saturday, April 22, at 4:30 p.m. – The Nickelodeon Frank Cox Theater