Unibrow Sun & Friendly Strangers Studios present…

Filmed a decade apart, two powerful titles trace the rise of skateboarding in Palestine, from its grassroots birth under occupation to one athlete’s journey of resistance on the road to the Olympic qualifiers.

Epicly Palestine’d 

A documentary by Phillip Joa & Theo Krish  

Filmed in 2015 primarily on phones, with zero budget, Epicly Palestine’d is a short documentary capturing the birth of Palestine’s skate scene. With no equipment, no facilities and no blueprint, a small group of teenagers make history by becoming Palestine’s first skateboarders. Despite the challenges of living under military occupation, they set out to build a community from scratch – planting the seeds for what, nearly a decade later, would lead to Palestine’s first Olympic skateboarder.

EXIST 

A documentary by Markus Bengtsson & Viktor Telegin 

EXIST follows Palestinian skateboarder, Aram Sabbah, in the weeks leading up to the Olympic qualifiers in Dubai. Leaving his war-torn homeland, Aram isn’t chasing medals, he’s carrying the mantle for Palestine with a drive to send a message – Palestine exists beyond media headlines and nameless statistics. Through skateboarding, Aram defines the forces that seek to silence and erase his people, offering instead resilience and a quiet resistance built on presence, passion and hope.

with skating shorts in Palestine

October 27th at 7:30 PM 
at Cobble Hill Cinemas
265 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 

All Proceeds will go to Skatepal in Palestine - SkatePal was founded in 2013 with the aim of developing a self-sustaining skateboarding scene in Palestine.

This event was curated and produced by Sabri Sundos and Laith Zuaiter.