Shot by CJF volunteer Julian Sonntag during the construction of Kingston’s first skatepark, ‘The Wave’ trails the history of the Jamaican skate scene, the local community’s quest for a park, and the Freedom Skatepark Project that as a result took place in the spring of 2020.
The story unfolds through the experiences and reflections of the surfers and skaters in the Eight Mile Bull Bay area while Kingston’s first skatepark was being built. The short documentary (20 min.) handles themes of self-improvement through sport, local community development and the unifying global family called skateboarding.
The film has been making the rounds at film festivals since its completion in June 2020. So far it has won 5 awards across the world, including ‘best documentary’ and ‘best director’. Local premieres have been held in Kingston, London, San Diego, Helsinki, and Brussels.
The Freedom Skatepark outside Kingston was completed in April 2020 by a group of 25 international and dozens of local volunteers. The build also saw the implementation of Concrete Jungle Foundation’s first rendition of the new Planting Seeds Apprenticeship programme, where six local skateboarders were taught skatepark construction by professionals over the course of 8 weeks while earning a living wage.
A youth center was also completed at the skatepark as part of a partnership with UK-based non-profit Flipping Youth. Today, Concrete Jungle Foundation employs 7 local youth at the skatepark while providing Edu-Skate programming for free to over 100 children every month. Youth employment, programmes and running costs of the park are made possible due to individual donations. If you have the means, please consider joining the Concrete Jungle Family.
