Bing Liu’s debut film is a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Midwestern hometown. While navigating a complex relationship between his camera and his friends, Bing explores the gap between fathers and sons, between discipline and domestic abuse and ultimately the precarious chasm between childhood and becoming an adult.

Key Film Participants

Bing Liu – the filmmaker

Zack – the group’s charismatic leader

Nina – Zack’s girlfriend and mother of his child

Keire – the youngest of the group

Key Issues

Minding the Gap is an excellent tool for outreach and will be of special interest to people who want to explore the following topics:

coming of age / identity development

concepts of manhood / traditional ideas of masculinity

domestic violence

economic insecurity

friendship

independence

parent-child relationships

racial identity

rust belt

substance abuse