FILM SCREENING + EVENT
Becoming Ruby and Pedal Through
with a live conversation with Brooklyn Bell
Saturday, May 1, 7:00PM Doors || 8:15PM Show Start
“What does inclusion look and feel like in the outdoor industry and bicycling community?
Bike SLO County, in collaboration with R.A.C.E. Matters and SLO Motion Film, is proud to present two inspiring short films — Becoming Ruby and Pedal Through.
Brooklyn Bell, subject of both films and advocate for diversifying the outdoors, will appear for a virtual discussion with Amman Asfaw, who served as Chair of San Luis Obispo’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task force, is President of Cal Poly’s National Society of Black Engineers. . .and is a self proclaimed lover of bicycles.
TICKETS
In-Person Screening
We are excited to announce that there will be a limited, socially distanced, outdoor screening at Central Coast Brewery - Monterey St. Your food and drink purchases will support the event. Please bring a jacket, your own chair, and your mask.
TICKETS
Virtual Screening
We are excited to announce that there will be a virtual option to watch on our SLOMotion, Eventive platform (now you can watch it with a Roku and Apple TV app too!). The film will be available from 7:00pm PT on 5/1 till midnight on 5/2.
LOCATION
Central Coast Brewing - Monterey St.
1422 Monterey Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
PROGRAM
Becoming Ruby
19 minutes, directed by Dave Mayers, 2020
A black woman from the mostly white city of Bellingham, Washington, Brooklyn Bell found her place outdoors, mountain biking competitively, with help from an avatar she created and then emulated. As a young, female, athlete with an artistic sensibility, Brooklyn, like Ruby, painstakingly constructs her identity as an outsider, literally and figuratively. She notes a fine distinction “between being welcome and being included,” but concludes that when it comes to outdoor sports, “when I get into the action of the thing, it doesn’t matter what I look like or who I am. What matters is being connected to the dirt.”
Pedal Through
15 minutes, directed by Analise Cleopatra + Aly Nickla, 2020
Pedal Through invites us into the world of director-lead Analise Cleopatra as she discovers the healing and joy of mountain biking. Analise had never camped or ridden a bike off the pavement when she decided to plan a week-long mountain biking adventure with an all Black female team: her best friend and fellow newcomer to the sport, DeJuanae Toliver, and professional mountain biker Brooklyn Bell. Together, they traverse the Oregon backcountry on an adventure full of exploration, curiosity, waterfalls, old growth forest, sparkling starscapes, and deep healing. With raw authenticity, Analise shares all the intimate foibles, fear, fun, and beauty of discovering her place in the outdoors. The landscape opens to greet her as she learns to lean into uncertainty, accept support and trust herself on this wild ride.
FOLLOWING THE SCREENING: A Live conversation with Brooklyn Bell
Live Conversation with Brooklyn Bell
Brooklyn Bell is an athlete and artist from the Pacific Northwest. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she moved north to Bellingham at age 10–a move that, by changing her access to the outdoors, changed her life. As a teenager, with trails in her backyard, she started hiking and running. Later, this became a gateway into the world of outdoor culture and she began skiing, climbing and mountain biking. Bell is one of the founding members of The Kona Supremes Ambassador Program. She spends her summers enduro racing and volunteering with the Joy Riders, a women’s mountain bike group in Bellingham. She is a strong advocate for women in outdoor sports and is working toward helping The Kona Supremes provide a space and resources for women to have fun and learn how to ride.