Rock Steady Row
by Karen Pecota

Rock Steady Row wins two top awards at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival: The Grand Jury Prize in the Narrative Feature category and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Filmmaker Trevor Stevens tells an all to familiar story between two college rival groups fighting for turf control and the loner student who is bullied by both. The intrigue with Rock Steady Row is how Stevens uses strange and bizarre means to turn a place of learning into a war zone.

The Indie film audience spots the ideal Indie film right away. Thus, the reason for Stevens two wins. It makes sense. Though the visuals are not conventional storytelling and far removed from reality, the message is relatable. Many college students struggle to survive their first year and it often feels like a battleground more than a friendly environment to flourish.

Rock Steady Row follows the journey of a freshman at Rock Steady University when his bike is stolen and pursues to get it back within an extremely hostile environment. The highly valued bike market on campus is competitive and cutthroat. This behavior is new and unacceptable to the freshman who is there to learn while bullying is not on his radar. Once he understands the rules of engagement then he is ready to rumble with the gang-like upper classmates to get his bike back. Simply out of principle. The freshman's creativity and wit are key to his survival.