COUPLES SKATE
by KALIYA WARREN
A night at the roller rink reveals the cracks in a relationship.
A dance film and break-up story, with a throwback soundtrack and candy colored visuals.
Get a taste of the vibe, skate moves, and music we’re going for.
OVERVIEW
Couples Skate finds a long-term couple in the end stages of their relationship, as they try to hold on to it for dear life.
Sadie is always hungry for the next adventure, or hobby – and wants her boyfriend Ryan to share in that fervor. In this case, by joining her on the skate floor. Ryan is content with life as it is, and is happy to cheerlead Sadie from the sidelines; or, from the arcade. When they are in sync, the world sings. When they’re not – they’re forced to confront whether they want the same life.
DIRECTOR’s NOTE
As a filmmaker of color, I’m often approached for projects centering black trauma, and historical atrocities. Those stories are incredibly important, and needed. If we don’t expose oppression and confront our history, we’re bound to repeat it.
However – filmmakers of color are often placed in that limited box – and any other stories we might have are crowded out. I’m a theater kid who grew up on musicals, fantasy films, and rom-coms. I always yearned to see more people who liked me in them. Why can’t someone like me be the complicated heroine in a spectacle filled love story?
As a result, Couples Skate combines two of my favorite things as a filmmaker: visual spectacle, and character study. We all have moments when we question our compatibility with a romantic partner - and we wonder how that affects the life that we want.
Roller dance seems like a perfect visual manifestation of this: when Sadie convinces Ryan to skate, they need to put in physical work as a couple to reach synchronicity. When Sadie pulls too far and too fast, they lose it.
Kaliya Warren
STORY + VISUALS
Sadie skates along to an upbeat throwback track, watching the pro skaters and Old Heads around her in admiration. She tries replicate the move of an Expert Skater Girl nearby. Sadie’s not a pro, but she is a quick learner.
As she gets the hang of it, she loses herself in the music. The lights dim, the music rises, and the world slows.
But just as she hits her stride, the song ends. We snap back to reality. The DJ announces that it’s Couples’ Skate, and a slow song begins. Sadie scans the rink with her eyes, envious of the couples pairing up.
Tentative, she approaches her boyfriend, Ryan. He’s holed up at the arcade, on a winning streak. In his own happy place and flow state.
“Hey Babe. It’s Couples Skate. Wanna try again?" Sadie asks.
Ryan is reluctant. Clearly, the previous attempt did not go well. But he wants to make her happy. He laces up, and they gingerly ease onto the skate floor.
They have a few hiccups to start. Ryan grips the wall for support. He worries,“I don’t wanna slow you down.” Sadie reassures him that she just wants to share the experience with him.
He braces himself, and follows Sadie’s coaching. Gradually, she guides them to a slow and steady glide.
For a beautiful moment, they’re connected. Hand in hand. The lights dim, the music rises, and the world slows.
Lost in the moment - Sadie pulls further, and faster.
Attempts the move she was perfecting earlier.
It’s too much.
Ryan escapes her hand, and careens into the other skaters. Roadkill on the skate floor.
Back on the bench, this triggers a tough conversation.
Ryan wonders - why is it so important that they share every exeperience together? This isn’t him.
Can’t he just support Sadie from afar? She can the do things that make her happy - and he can do what makes him happy.
Ryan asks her, pleadingly: will that work for her?
Sadie contemplates.
Is that enough?
It isn’t.
That isn’t the kind of relationship she wants.
She wants “someone who wants to skate with her.”
They sit in silence in the realization together.
We cut to later on. Months have passed.
Sadie is back in the rink alone.
The upbeat throwback music comes to a stop. It‘s Couples‘ Skate again.
She stays on the floor.
Self-conscious, she tries to force herself back into the zone. Tries a new move, but stumbles and loses her nerve.
Expert Skater Girl swings by: “Keep going, you almost had it!”
Sadie braces herself, and tries again.
Pulls her self back into the zone.
Take She takes inpiration from the skaters around her.
Slowly...the lights dim, the music rises, and the world slows.
The music is transforming into something more melodic, and classical.
The camera pulls out wider - to reveal a skater on each side of her, moving in synch.
We pull back further. Layers upon layers of skaters are performing in unison.
Sadie’s choreography is growing more expressive and raw. As her emotions crescendo with the music, we cut to black.
The musical artists we‘ll be approaching for the soundtrack:
THE DIRECTOR
Kaliya Warren is an award-winning writer and director. Most recently, she directed the Key Art Campaign for the Hulu TV series REASONABLE DOUBT, executive produced by Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore. She served as the Series BTS Director for Disney's OBI-WAN KENOBI, and as the cinematographer on HBO and Issa Rae’s feature documentary, INSECURE: THE END. Narratively, she was a top-five finalist for Tribeca and AT&T’s Untold Stories competition, and her pitch for her feature EXPATRIATES received the $50k Fan Favorite Award.
She specializes in dance film, and her short REVELATION premiered as part of IFC’s Short Attention Span Cinema Series. Her commercial clients have included Delta Air Lines, Facebook, and Vanity Fair, and she’s partnered with ad agencies such as Droga5 and BBDO New York. Previously, she co-directed THE ROAD TO JUSTICE, which was commissioned for The Nation Magazine and premiered at HBO's Urbanworld Film Festival.
Warren has directed work across four continents, from Tanzania to the Philippines. She is a member of IATSE Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild, and she is represented as a narrative director by Good Fear Content.
PAST WORK
Directing Reel
Dance Film Reel
THANK YOU