Now Streaming in Austin: Hell on Wheels

Blood on the track: The early days of Roller Derby in Austin, as captured in Hell on Wheels. (Image Courtesy of IndiePix/Crashcam Films)

Welcome to Now Streaming in Austin, highlighting locally made titles to watch while self-quarantining.
No one has ever accused Austin of being a big sports town. It's a dissident town, a punk rock town. So it makes sense that its biggest contribution to sports is punk AF.

In 2001, a group of Austin women got together and kicked life back into the dying sport, and nearly two decades later it has gone from a weird idea to the fastest-growing sport on the planet, and a standout example of one run and played almost exclusively by women.

But it wasn't all smooth rolling, and by sheer luck Austin filmmaker Bob Ray happened to be on-hand to chronicle the early days of modern Roller Derby in Austin - the bouts, the booze, the celebration, the broken bones and broken trusts - that lead to the city having two leagues: the flat-track Texas Rollergirls, and the banked track Texas Rollerderby.

So, this Tuesday night (July 14) at 8pm Central, we'll be watching this underdog classic, and live-tweeting the action. Follow Chronicle screens editor (and former Roller Derby correspondent) Richard Whittaker on Twitter @YorkshireTX, and join in using the hashtag #NowStreamingInAustin.

Hell on Wheels

• Amazon Prime (Link)
• Indiepix (Link)
• Vimeo (Link)