Skateboarding Is Not for Girls [Tribeca Festival Review]

by Mike McGranaghan

A happy accident led me to Skateboarding Is Not for Girls, a Macedonian drama that screened in the International Narrative Competition section of the 2026 Tribeca Festival. When a technical problem prevented me from seeing a different film, I found myself with a 90-minute gap I wanted to fill. Lo and behold, director Dina Duma’s coming-of-age tale was listed as a tight 82 minutes, so I decided to give it a whirl. Boy, am I glad I did. This is one of my favorite entries in this year’s fest, and I really hope it will receive significant distribution.

The story follows 11-year-old Adela, wonderfully played by Efkjar Abaz. She’s into skateboarding and spending time with her friends. After school, she and older sister Zara (Džefrina Jašari) help their mother Esma (Simonida Selimovic) with the cleaning jobs she takes to compensate for the fact that the girls’ absentee father is not sufficiently supporting them. Financial desperation hits a peak, leaving Esma with two imperfect options. One is to lose everything and live on the streets; the other is to marry off Zara for a fee. Zara dislikes the idea but is willing to do it. Adela, on the other hand, is determined to prevent her sister from being forced into an arranged marriage. She believes that she can spare the family by winning a local skateboarding competition.

That synopsis sounds heavy, and indeed Skateboarding Is Not for Girls takes it quite seriously. Don’t think the movie isn’t fun, though. Duma brings energy to the skateboarding scenes, utilizing pulsating electronic music on the soundtrack and dividing the screen into sections as the cameras track Adela’s routes. It’s also funny at times. Adela is not shy about making her displeasure known, nor about consciously injecting awkwardness into situations. These are the tools available to an 11-year-old, and she makes good use of them.

Abaz is absolutely perfect in the lead role. She gives off a younger Jenna Ortega vibe, complete with that mixture of sarcasm and mischievousness. The young actress has an expressive face, too, so we understand what’s going on inside Adela’s head even when she’s not verbally expressing her emotions. Selimovic and Jašari are excellent, as well. The former conveys the horror of Esma having to make a Sophie’s Choice, and the latter gives Zara a sad resignation to her fate. Together, the three stars create a family dynamic that’s heartfelt and true.

Skateboarding Is Not for Girls speaks volumes about having to face very grown-up concerns prematurely. Adela is not ready to handle a situation so fraught with emotion. And yet, she discovers that she somehow is ready. The rebellious streak already inside of her simply needs to be applied in a new way. Watching her figure this out is immensely rewarding. This is a joyous film.

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