Ahmed Matar
Ahmed Matar, a professional parkour athlete from Gaza, Palestine, discovered parkour at the age of nine when he met his two friends, Abdullah Inshasi and Mohammed AlJakhbir, and together they founded the first parkour team in Gaza.
One summer day in 2017, after applying almost six times, Ahmed received his Schengen Visa. His aim was participate in a Parkour championship in Sweden. Ahmed went to the checkpoint along with his father, and waited for a whole day and night. By morning, Ahmed had crossed to the other side.
When Ahmed first arrived to Sweden, he lived a suburban life not unlike his life in Gaza. Ahmed spent half of his time commuting. His foster family was of great support and helped him progress beyond his dreams. His work finally took him to the city where he started participating in major championships.
From afar, Ahmed constantly looked for ways to maintain parkour in Gaza. He worked with sponsors on funding a proper Parkour training location in Gaza. The highlight of his days was when he, Abdulla and Jihad updated each other via Messenger.
Yalla Parkour shows a decade of footage from Ahmed's parkour training in Gaza. Now based in Stockholm, Ahmed performed at the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten), in a play called Exit Parkour based on his own personal story. Currently, Ahmed is working to develop a parkour association in Stockholm.
Areeb Zuaiter
Areeb Zuaiter is a filmmaker constantly looking for ways to connect with a home where she never lived. Though born in the Palestinian city of Nablus, she was raised outside of Palestine. Every year, her mother took her to visit family and friends in Nablus. During these visits, Areeb experienced a profound sense of belonging, watching her mother’s smile grow wider and her happiness reemerge. That smile became Areeb’s own metaphor for home and identity.
When Areeb was four, her uncle was getting married to a young woman from Gaza, and her mother brought her with her to the wedding. It was Areeb’s first encounter with the sea. Seeing her mother’s smile meet with the sea felt like magic—an unforgettable moment that deepened her sense of connection to her roots.
Today, Areeb has built a life and family in the U.S., halfway across the globe from the place where she feels she belongs. Her passion remains rooted in sharing stories from her homeland and amplifying voices from the region. Her journey with Yalla Parkour, her debut feature documentary, became a personal exploration of the barriers that now restrict access to places engraved in her memory and soul. It is her mother’s story and, ultimately, her own—revealed through an unexpected friendship with Ahmed.
Gaza Parkour Team
Gaza Parkour is the first team to practice parkour in Palestine. One of the first teams to appear in the Arab world, Gaza Parkour was established in 2005 after the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. Founders Abdallah Inshasi and Mohammed Al-jakhbeer were inspired by a documentary titled Jump Londo that aired on Al-Jazeera TV. At the time, Parkour was a relatively unknown and uncommon activity in the Middle East. It has since gained momentum, especially amongst refugee camp youths.
Parkour, also known as “free running,” is a style of acrobatic traversing through physical obstacles to reach an endpoint while using no additional aid or equipment. The team practiced in a former Israeli factory that was abandoned in 2005. It was in a state of ruin from shelling. Other than the run-down facility, the team also trained in rubble-filled structures outside of the Khan Younis refugee camp and in the neighboring cemetery.