Yalla Parkour (2024)

In Solidarity with Palestine: Yalla Parkour (2024)

Roffa Mon Amour remains committed to justice and peace for Palestine. The situation demands our attention, solidarity, and action.

This evening highlights the resilience and strength of Palestinian youth. We present Yalla Parkour (2024), a striking documentary showing how young people use parkour to reclaim freedom and space despite heavy restrictions.

A Palestinian poet will join us to share powerful words reflecting the emotions and everyday realities of life in Palestine.

Amnesty International will host a large writing action focused on Gaza, giving attendees a chance to raise their voices. They will also run a workshop where you can create your own protest sign: a vital way to express involvement and demand attention in times when silence is no longer an option.

All popcorn proceeds will be donated to Plant een Olijfboom, an organization helping Palestinian communities protect their land by planting olive trees.

We invite you to join us for this evening of reflection, solidarity, and active support for a more just future.

About Yalla Parkour

Sweden-based filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter was born in 1980 in the mountainous city of Nablus, Palestine. When she was four, she travelled to Gaza and saw the sea for the first time. The memory of her Palestinian mother’s smile by the seaside left a lasting impression on her. Years later, when she sees a video of young boys doing parkour on Gaza’s shores, she is filled with nostalgia. Longing to reconnect with her past, Areeb gets in touch with the parkour team, and a long-distance friendship begins. Through videocalls and DIY parkour films, they navigate the cityscape of Gaza pre-October 7th, jumping from abandoned buildings to a run-down shopping centre and the remains of an airport.

The adrenaline-filled joy of the young athletes stands in stark contrast to the distant echoes of explosions. As their relationship deepens, Ahmed reveals to Areeb the harsh realities of life in Gaza. Ahmed’s desire to escape his homeland triggers conflicting feelings in Areeb, who understands the emotional void that such a departure can bring. Areeb’s journey becomes not only a quest to reclaim memories but also an exploration of identity, belonging and the haunting legacy of a homeland left behind.

Selected for major documentary film festivals such as Vision du réel, Movies that Matter, and the Berlinale, Yalla Parkour centers two Palestinian voices in a dialogue about their homeland and offers a glimpse of pre-October 7th in Gaza. In light of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, what emerges with utmost clarity is an undeniable truth, one that is more than ever still overlooked: the respect due to every human life.