ARABIAN SIGHTS

Yalla Parkour

AREEB ZUAITER
Sweden, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, 2024
89 minutes, Color
Official website

In Person: Director Areeb Zuaiter (April 25 screening only)

When filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter lost her Palestinian mother, she lost her connection to Gaza. In pursuit of a memory that reinforces her sense of belonging, Areeb sees a video of a parkour team that uses the ruins of Gaza's bombed buildings as obstacle courses, laughing for joy against a background of explosions. Longing to reconnect with her past, Areeb contacts the team and befriends teenager Ahmed Matar, who believes that parkour will be his route out of the prison their shared homeland has become. Together, they navigate what is left of Gaza. Ahmed's desire to escape triggers conflicting feelings in Areeb, who understands the emotional void that such a departure can bring. At this time when Gaza and its people are being devastated every day, Yalla Parkour (winner of the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC) is a portrait of a tormented city and the perseverance of its people.—Various sources

In Arabic and Swedish with English subtitles