A strange, beautiful tropical fairy tale about a girl who skateboards to work high.

This will be one of the trippiest rides you’ve ever been on. Light on narrative, ‘High Rider’ sticks to its tittle and follows a girl who skates to work while high on weed. As she rides, her fears, anxieties, and paranoia manifest themselves in the characters she encounters, both real and imagined.

In terms of the impetus for the project, I had the image of the tarp wave scene floating around in my head for a long time—it felt strangely emotionally affecting. I’d also been interested in writing a story about an anti-heroine. The two ideas came together in the form of a stoner skater girl who loses control of her imagination.

Filmmaking is all about capturing moments, and Bradley Tangonan really managed to capture a blurred imagination to its fullest. Using rather simple techniques like slow motion and swift angles, Bradley keeps us mesmerized by creating a floating sensation (just like being high) and introducing random and dubious characters. You do ask yourself if the story will get somewhere, but when it becomes obvious that it won’t you’ve already been fully satisfied, and become kind of happy that it didn’t go any further, and the ride simply ended when the ride ended.

bradleytangonan.com
Nalani Ravelo (Actress)
Jeremy Snell (Cinematographer)