I stumbled upon roller derby through my sister-in-law. She’s way cool. She cycled from New Orleans to New York, named her firstborn son Eland and she does flat track roller derby!

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I see most of you frowning, asking what is flat track roller derby? Well, from what I saw it’s hot chicks on wheels bulleting towards one another! Okay, okay, let me rephrase. It’s hot chicks with cool derby names, all dressed up, made up in war paint, covered in protective gear, bulleting towards one another! On a flat track, of course.

In truth, they are more than mere hot chicks. They are athletes. They have to be super freaking fit, and bloody determined, to qualify for the team. You have to do a crazy amount of laps in like five minutes around an indoor track at a speed of like 27km/h! As if that is not hair raising enough, they also have to help organise, sell T-shirts and set up the track for the outdoor bouts. (The Cape Town Roller Girls adhere to the rules WFTDA in order for them to one day compete internationally.)

These chicks are also fearless. If I saw any of these chicks coming towards me on a pair of skates, I’d get the hell out of the way and possibly cry in secret. They build up quite a speed, the jammers jam into the pack and the pack needs to block the jammers. (For a more scientific explanation, click here.) There has been some broken bones involved. Cool names include Doll Vuis, Preda Terra, Betty Blizzard, Wolverming and Skidd Vicious.

I would’ve thought a bunch of hot chicks on skates would end up being a nest of bitchiness. These chicks are seriously nice. They have a camaraderie that is to be envied. They hold surprise picnics at Kirstenbosch for a sick member. They attend the screening of one another’s doccies. They even attend the, ahem, book launch, of a sister-in-law/godmother to Eland.

It seems that roller derby has meant a lot to some of the girls. It helped one girl get out of an abusive relationship. If she can face a pack of hot chicks on wheels coming her way, she can certainly take care of a shitty boyfriend.

Back to my sister-in-law. She developed postnatal depression three months after little Eland was born. One of the many measures she put in place, was roller derby. The physical activity, the focus you have to apply, the freedom it gives you and the camaraderie of being one of the girls, it all helped to get her back onto track.

What started out as a doccie on the sport by the UCT film school, ended up focusing on Hanlie, her husband Wim and little Eland. I attended the screening as family, not as a film critic. I was surprised to be completely freaking blown away by Rise. If this is the future of documentaries in South Africa, we’re in good hands.
The cinematography is awesome from the first frame. The subject is treated with great respect. Choices, such as to not interview Wim the husband, was spot on. Sometimes it is what you don’t show, what is happening just beyond the frame of the camera, that is the most powerful.