‘Swerve,’ a new film about Philly bike culture, is based on a true story

Raphael Xavier, a professional hip-hop dancer and artist, was working on a new dance show just before the COVID pandemic shut the world down. He suddenly had time on his hands, and turned to BMX riding — something he’d been doing since he was a middle schooler.

He was in his late 40s at the time, and stuck out among the younger crowds. But one day, he noticed a group of riders from his same generation. They started talking bike specs with each other, and the older riders introduced Xavier to Eli Salter, a not-yet 20 BMXer who had been riding with them.

“I’m just out basking in the moment.”

It was an unusual group; plus, Xavier and Salter were the only ones who were Black. But the group kept riding together, and the older men became Salter’s mentors.

But the relationship between Salter and Xavier went to another level once Xavier realized that Salter effectively was homeless at the time. Xavier let Salter sleep on his couch, and their relationship deepened even further.

Now, Xavier has turned their story into a movie.

Swerve, a short fictional film codirected by Xavier and Gary Dourdan based on the real-life relationship, is having its first screening this Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. at Penn’s Annenberg Center, at 3680 Walnut St. Beginning at 12:30 p.m., the cast will be available for a meet and greet, and immediately following the screening, there will be a Q&A discussion.

Tickets may be purchased online at pennlivearts.org or at the Anneberg box office.

“I’ve always had an interest in making things and telling stories and being creative as possible,” Xavier said. He wrote and acted in the film, and had previously made a documentary about dancers in Brazil. But he never got around to bringing a fictional narrative to life, even though he would always write and put stories together in his mind.

Once Salter started living with him, Xavier realized this was the moment.

“It just felt so ready,” he said. “I’m just excited that this thing is finally happening.”

As Salter kept hanging out with the older riders, Xavier struggled to understand why this young guy wanted to spend so much time with them. But at the end of one ride where just Salter and Xavier were left, Xavier said his goodbye and parked his bike back inside of his house. Then, he looked out again and noticed that Salter was still riding in the street, practicing tricks.

“I said, ‘yo, I thought you were going home.’ He’s like, ‘nah, I’m not going home, man. I don’t want to go home,’” Xavier said, remembering their conversation. “It was clear to me that there was something else going on with this kid.”

“I hated my life. I didn’t really care too much about my life and what I did,” Salter said. He had been in and out of residential placements throughout his life, and his parents had separated; his childhood was rife with trauma.

But riding his bike, exploring the city and trying new tricks was Salter’s release from it all.

“It’s like a gateway [where] I feel no stress. I feel no anxiety. I feel no pain, I’m not worried about responsibilities. I’m just out basking in the moment,” he said.

When the older men welcomed him on their rides and Xavier let him live in his house, it touched him. The men felt like family.

“I appreciated it more than they knew ... I look up to them for that,” he said.

Now 24, Salter has graduated from trade school and has a young son. He still lives in Southwest Philly and talks to the older riders regularly, including Xavier.

“I tell them all the time, ‘I love you guys, I really do,’” he said.

Salter served as a stunt double for Swerve, doing tricks on his bike. He said it “blows my mind” that he’s going to be portrayed in a film. It won’t stop with just this weekend, either. Xavier plans to submit the film to festivals, and maybe even develop it into feature length or a TV series one day.

“When Raph approached me on it, I was like, ‘I’m down! ... sign me up!’” Salter said.

Portraying the real-life Eli on screen was a new kind of challenge for the young actor, Jayden Alexander; it was his acting debut.

Alexander was scrolling on Instagram one night in 2021 when he saw the call for audition submissions, and his friend encouraged him to give it a shot, since they were avid bike riders.

“It was pretty surreal. I don’t think it’s still settled yet,” Alexander said about filming Swerve.

He said Xavier and the other adults on set helped him better channel the emotions he needed for certain scenes, and communicate with body language. It helped that he came prepared, too. He and his parents ran lines together for hours and hours, starting with the very first night he received the script.

Alexander will watch the film for the first time on Saturday. He thinks it will feel weird to see himself on a movie screen, but not because he’s self conscious about his acting; he’s just grown up a bit since the filming took place a few years ago.

“I had a baby face back then,” he said.