This Is Roller Derby


This Is Roller Derby is a 2011 Australian documentary film by Daniel Hayward on four Australian roller derby teams over the course of a season.
The film features members from roller derby associations from Australia and the United States, primarily the Ballarat Roller Derby League. The DVD for the film released on 20 February 2013.

Synopsis

The film follows four Australian roller derby leagues, Ballarat Roller Derby League, Adelaide Roller Derby, Canberra Roller Derby League and Geelong Roller Derby League, over the course of twelve months, and documents the start of roller derby in Australia and overseas.

Cast and crew

The film was directed by Daniel Hayward and features members from the Ballarat Roller Derby League and members from US leagues, particularly Texas Rollergirls and TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls.
Some featured Roller Derby skaters include:
  • April Ritzenthaler
  • Katrina "Mad Mac" MacDonald
  • Haylee "Seven Lux" Hartley
  • Rebekah "Apocalypse Nerd" Bailey
  • Sarah "Barrelhouse Bessy" Strong-Law
  • Nadia "Smartypants" Keane
  • Michelle "Miss Hellfire" Murrel
  • Kim "Jelli Knight" Adams

Reception

gave a positive review for This Is Roller Derby, calling it a "gutsy and eye-opening insight into a sport on the rise and the world around it." SBS gave a mixed review for the film, saying that while the first half of the film has "genuine energy", that "in driving his material towards a feature-length running time of 80-odd minutes, Hayward steers into a cul-de-sac, showing longer extracts of the action from tournaments rather than digger deeper into some of the personal stories."