The Devil's Toy Redux (Web Site)

Montreal, 1966. A shoulder-mounted camera. A skateboard. Claude Jutra makes one of the first skateboarding films, The Devil’s Toy Redux. One of the originators of cinéma direct, Jutra didn’t just create a film about the “victims of intolerance” as the opening credits state, his film unintentionally defined the early history of skate cinema.

The Devil’s Toy Redux rails against the standard model of how stories are told and consumed. The original film is reimagined by fourteen directors from around the world. Easily navigate from one film to the next and witness the evolution of skateboarding culture as told by these filmmakers.

Audiences can jump from country to country, theme to theme and era to era within the experience. They can also contribute to the project by sharing their skate pictures and videos on Instagram with the hashtag #devilstoy. The project as a whole pays tribute to skateboarding films, yet also goes beyond traditional trick shots to tell a powerful and universal story of rebellion, societal intolerance and the refusal to obey social mores.

In 1966, a plank of wood and four wheels was hell on earth. Fifty years later, skateboarding is a multi-billion dollar sport. But, at its core skateboarding is still a vehicle for rebellion and the expression of youth.