Part of Counterculture Pioneers: Middle East

Directed by Philip Gnadt, Mickey Yamine (2016)

Gaza: a strip of land with a population of 1.7 million citizens, wedged between Israel and Egypt and isolated from the outside world, with 26 miles of coastline and a harbor that no longer services ships. Hardly anything gets into Gaza and even less gets out. The young generation is growing up with very little perspective, occupied and jobless. But against this background there is a small movement: the surf community of Gaza City. With great effort and despite strict sanctions, around 40 surfboards have been brought into the country in recent decades. Those boards give a handful of Palestinians an opportunity to experience a small slice of freedom—between the coastal reminder of a depressing reality and the Israeli-controlled three-mile marine border.