By Tania Ketenjian

In 1995, Larry Clark came out with his first film titled KIDS. It followed a group a teenagers in New York City and revealed a life of sex, drugs and general debauchery. One of the shocking aspects of the film was the way it introduced AIDS into youth culture. But in certain ways, that issue almost seemed secondary. It was the mayhem of these kids, how free they were and in that freedom, the way they relinquished morals and responsibilities. His latest film, Wassup Rockers, re-visits the theme of youth on the edge. Three years ago, Larry Clark was strolling down Venice Beach in California and came across a group of young, Central American skaters from south central LA. They were dressed as punk rockers: tight jeans, metal belts, black t-shirts. He decided to make a film, albeit fiction, about their lives. Wassup Rockers widens the lens on a community and society that is often myopically represented. And although the film is fictional, you can't help but slip into the sense that you're watching a documentary, it all seems so real.