CAMDEN—Filmmaker Gideon Baeza, 26, producer Marta Denny, 26, and a cast and crew of approximately 20 recently wrapped three weeks of an intense shoot for Baeza's first feature film, Hope Is Hip. 

"The story is about a group of teen skaters who are trying to save their local skate park," said Baeza. "Our protagonist, Parker, goes to a town meeting to petition to save the skate park, and he tries to save this third space, not only for himself, but for the generations of kids after him. Internally, he grapples with leaving home for the first time and his parents getting a divorce." 

Baeza and Denny both grew up in Camden and attended Camden Hills Regional High School before each moved to New York to pursue film careers. Once classmates, now a couple, Baeza and Denny returned to Maine from New York City this August to shoot the film. They sat down for an interview to talk about the entire experience.

"I shot a proof of concept about a year ago, featuring this kid who skateboarded, and who was quite a few years younger than me," said Baeza. "While we were making this short film, he had 'Hope is Hip' written on his skateboard. I found out the whole lore around that, how the phrase had come from the Hope General Store, then became a slogan for the whole town. It just kind of stuck. I liked the optimism of the word 'hope', as well as it being the name of the town."

Baeza served as the film's writer, director, line producer and editor. 

"After the proof of concept was shot, I wanted to expand it into a feature film about growing up in the Midcoast and being a skater," he said. "I'm Cuban on my mom's side and have generations of living in Maine on my Dad's side. I kept coming back to this idea that I love: the juxtaposition of skaters existing in a quaint, tourist Midcoast town."

Camden's Skateboarding Ordinance

Camden's municipal Traffic Code (Chapter 250) explicitly restricts the use of coasters, roller skates, and similar devices on public streets to protect pedestrian and driver safety. If a skateboarder is under 17, state law grants police the power to impound the skateboard until a parent or guardian goes to the police station to retrieve it. 

In 2000, to combat this problem, MBNA built a skate park on Knowlton Street near the old Teen Center.

In 2020, the YMCA sold the Teen Center and the town relocated the skate park to a nearby town-owned parking lot. A 2020 article in Penobscot Bay Pilot, "Support builds for keeping a skate park in Camden: Select Board to discuss", depicts Baeza front and center as a skating teen in the feature photo. The town has since raised funds to repair the aging ramp infrastructure, and the skate park continues to stay open. 

Back to the film

The movie takes a documentary tack, focusing on the period of time that the skate park had been closed and how it affected the local teen community.

"I was 12 or 13 when I started skating at the skate park by the original teen center," said Baeza. "Very quickly I was obsessed with it. When I got the hang of it, I wanted to skate downtown, bomb hills, and immediately a cop would pull over and tell me to pick up my board.

"In the film, we shot a scene where a cop pulls over one of our main characters skating on the sidewalk, and he points out that it is still illegal," said Baeza.

Allen Weaver, Camden's police chief, played the fictional town's chief of police. 

“Initially, Gideon came to us to see what we could provide for the movie, like barricades,” said Weaver, who had been promoted to police chief the week before. “I’ve known Gideon and his family for a long time. That led to asking if I’d star as the police chief in the movie, and I was in 100 percent."

"Time and time again, growing up here, I've seen skate parks disappear because funding isn't there, and to be honest, skate parks get a bad reputation. I think it's a stereotype, and sometimes it's justified," said Baeza.

The film took 17 days to shoot and had a cast of approximately 10, ranging in age from 12 to 22.

"Ninety percent of the film was shot in Camden and Rockport," Baeza said.

They made the film for under $30,000, raising nearly $6,000 through the GoFundMe. The rest of the budget was self-funded by Baeza.

Most of the cast in the film had to work around their summer jobs to accommodate the film schedule.

"This kind of film could have only been made here and by the people who grew up here," he said. "I got so much satisfaction to share this story with the community it represents."

Baeza predicts it will be a year before the film will be released and they'll launch it in Camden. Denny's next goal is to find distribution.

"I feel like Gideon has the big dreams," she said. "I am more practical in how we're going to get it out there and distribute it. I've never done anything like that before, but at the very least, it would be great to play the film for skaters in small towns everywhere." 

"Outside of the skating community, I feel like this film has such a universal message," said Baeza. "With our generation, it is hard to take a chance and move to a city and risk not being employed. This film shows why it makes sense why half of my friends still live here in Maine because it's so hard to make a living anywhere. It shows how hard it is to leave without the guarantee of being able to support yourself." 

Stay posted with their progress.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot@gmail.com