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A Life On Wheels
FILMINK spoke with former roller-skating World Champion turned filmmaker Jayson Sutcliffe about his stirring autobiographical documentary ‘Rollerboy’.
From the moment he first threw on a pair of roller skates as a boy, Jayson Sutcliffe was fuelled with a burning desire to glide to the top. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Kylie Minogue and the Bionic Woman, he challenged the conventions of the sport, producing flashy and extravagant skating performances that mesmerised audiences and judges alike. But it hasn't been a smooth ride to World Champion, with Sutcliffe encountering prejudice, heartbreak, abuse and personal tragedy along the way. Fresh from rolling down the red carpet at the Sydney Film Festival, where his film is playing in the Foxtel Australian Documentary Competition, FILMINK recently spoke to Sutcliffe about his experience as a first time director (he co-directed the doco with friend Polly Watkins), his skating career, and being compared to Cate Blanchett...
So how did the project first get its legs?
I was pitching a horror script I'd written to a producer in Los Angeles, but he was fascinated by my life on wheels and said, ‘Wow, that would make a fantastic documentary!' It was as simple as that. I went home, got a camera and started filming. Further down the track, I was left with close to sixty hours of footage, but not a lot of knowledge of what to do next....
So when I was studying at the VCA, my lecturer Adam Elliot [the Academy Award winning director of Harvie Krumpet and Mary and Max] introduced me to producer, Beth Frey. She took the project on almost immediately, and within a year we had secured post-production funding through Screen Australia. Five years later, here we are!
What were some of the challenges you faced as a first time filmmaker?
Being in front of the camera was a huge challenge. I had never done anything like it before and when it came to some of the more delicate issues we covered, I struggled. I really felt for my co-director Polly Watkins. I was pretty difficult during my interviews, because it was hard to just let it all out. There was a lot of frustration on my part.
The film is a very intimate and personal account of your life. How hard was it for you to return to some of those memories?
The personal side of my story was very difficult to revisit, as I had never really spoken about it before, or even dealt with those demons. It was something I had buried in a deep place that I tried to forget. I never dreamt of opening up in front of a camera about something so intimate and private, and while doing the interview doesn't bring closure or resolve anything, just talking about the problems I encountered did actually bring an element of release. It's like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders after twenty years.
Unlike many other competitive sports, the skating world has had very little light shone on it here in Australia. How important was it for you to show a larger audience just how entertaining and demanding roller-skating can be?
Performing for the audiences was one of, if not the biggest, motivating factor in my career, especially when I was young. Being out there under the lights and hearing the applause was something that I craved and lived for. I've also wanted to show that a four minute routine isn't as easy as it might seem - a few minutes skating equates to approximately forty minutes on the football field. You are using every muscle in your body, every which way you possibly can and it's really tough. It might look graceful, but skating is a combination of skill, strength, speed and artistry.
Some of the footage of you skating is absolutely breathtaking! What exactly goes through your head when you are competing?
A million things go through your mind, but those few moments before the music starts is when it really hits you. There's that silence in the stadium where the beat of your own heart is almost deafening. And then the music starts and it's all gone. The adrenalin kicks in and you're instantly transported to another place where you are untouchable for three to four minutes. That's how I feel when I'm out there. I've always fed from the crowd, the cheering, the applause, the noise. There's the odd occasion where you connect with a face in the audience and it can be so powerful that you feel as though you've drawn them into your world... and then you can just as quickly find yourself slamming into the concrete!
Actress Melissa George makes an appearance in the film. Can you tell us a bit about your relationship, and what it was like having her involved in the project?
She was a skater as a child, and we met up at the Nationals each year and began writing letters to one another. That's how we became friends. When we were in Sydney, it was her idea to go down to the harbour and skate together. We ended up with some beautiful moments that are in the film. It's really great having her involved, because she believed in me from day one, pushing me to go to film school, pushing me to go that one step further and finish this film.
And how was your red carpet experience at the Sydney Film Festival?
Stepping onto the red carpet in my silver outfit and skates was terrifying, yet at the same time a moment of ecstasy. It was when the first camera started flashing that I realised the five year commitment to the film had brought me to this. It was a reward that I had never dreamt of and something I relished. I wanted to be on skates because that's who I am, and all I've known for most of my life.
In the end, the obstacle was gaining entrance into the State Theatre. The ride stopped at the door and I was turned away after the paparazzi frenzy, in fear of my wheels marking the marble floor. I scurried off back up Market Street against the traffic only to be pulled up by a cop!
Where do you hope to see the film to go from here?
I feel as though we've already conquered, just making it into Sydney Film Festival and to be a finalist in the Foxtel Australian Documentary Competition. Five years ago I thought this pet project may have been almost good enough for YouTube. Now, to be here in 2011 on the red carpet with headlines rating my silver outfit against Cate Blanchett's is just incredible beyond words. To be involved in other festivals would be amazing and to gain distribution with a niche release to cinema would be a huge milestone for our sport. The whole thing is really beyond a dream and something I think my father would be so proud of.
Rollerboy will play at the Sydney Film Festival on June 15, 6.30pm. Get tickets here!
