Yalla Parkour

Filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter is watching a Palestinian parkour video in 2015, when all of a sudden, she sees the smile of her Palestinian mother on the face of one of the parkourists. Led by that smile, Zuaiter begins to see Palestine through a completely new window, as she contacts the person behind the video. Yalla Parkour is that window, through which the parkour culture that has thrived in the ruins of Gaza becomes known worldwide.

Amid more than 50 years of Israeli occupation, parkour emerges as one of many expressions of resistance: as Israel destroys the land, there’s always new life sprouting from the ruins. Young Gazans reclaim the bombed shopping centres and airports through parkour, making them places to express joy, bravery and bodily virtuosity.

However, the viewer of Yalla Parkour is haunted by an unpleasant question: how are all the young parkourists doing now? Israel is currently committing genocide in Gaza, and aspires to put out every last smile from the faces of the Palestinians.

May there loom a day in the near future, when Palestinian smiles beam on the streets of a rebuilt Gaza, and parkourists jump on the roofs – free Palestine!

Pöly Julkunen (translated by Vilja Hynynen)

Part of the tickets to the Vuotalo screening are sold through Vuotalo’s own ticket sales channels.