Urban bike culture on view at Bicycle Film Festival

“Hit ‘Em In The Mouth” Trailer from Matthew on Vimeo.

The Bicycle Film Festival rolls out for a three-day run in New York City on Friday, reminding us that Seattle isn’t included among the 25 international locations for the 2012 edition.

Cycling fans in those festival cities will get to enjoy a slice of bicycling culture from the Pacific Northwest in a piece on Seattle Bike Polo entitled, “Hit ‘Em in the Mouth.” Described at the BFF website:

“A documentary exploring the culture of Seattle Bike Polo, the birthplace of the current polo craze. The movie centers around the dominant figures of the scene, including the father of hardcourt bike polo Matt Messenger, the world champions Team Smile, and the up-and-coming players of the city. Their stories intertwine as we follow the drama through the National Championships and a battle with the city of Seattle for a permanent space to play.”

Dozens of cycling documentaries are on tap for New York’s festival. Most are geared to the urban cycling culture, such Lucas Brunelle’s take on alleycat races in “Line of Sight.”

Brunelle has been chasing down bike messenger races around the globe for a decade. While I question the complete and utter lack of “share the road” bike-riding skills exhibited in the film clip above, I’ll have to admit that the results are thrilling.

Besides bike polo and alley cat racing, there’s also room on the program for more sedate urban cycling pursuits such as cargo biking with kids — “Less Car More Go” by Liz Canning.

Some historical road racing pieces also are featured, such as a documentary on Irish pro cyclist Shay Elliott.

There’s also a thoughtful pieces, like the one about Georgena Terry, founder of Terry Bicycles. She helped revolutionize the bike-building industry, teaching insiders that women would pay more than $600 for a bicycle.

The line-up for the 2012 Bicycle Film Festival comprises Athens, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Firenze, Heerlen, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Milano, Minneapolis, Montreal, Moscow, Paris, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Sydney, Tallinn, Tokyo and Vienna.

Check the BFF website for dates.