All This Mayhem 15

In the late 1980s, two brothers from the wrong side of the track turned up at a Melbourne skate park - and astonished spectators with their acrobatic feats. When they headed to America, Tas and Ben Pappas soon found themselves in epic combat with rival Tony Hawk, and topping the competition league in vert skating – a sport which was rapidly changing under the steerage of ESPN. Enjoying the good life, with a hard partying entourage, abundant drugs, and outlandish behaviour, both brothers would soon self-destruct, finding themselves cast out by the society which had so quickly embraced them.

Director Eddie Martin used to skate with them back in the day, and uses a wide array of archive and interviews to tell their cautionary tale. Speaking from a prison cell, Tas Pappas is a charismatic blend of pride and regret, as he recounts life in the ultra-fast lane.

Synopsis courtesy of Carol Nahra, Sheffield Doc/Fest