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'''''Gaza Surf Club''''' is a 2016 German [[documentary film]] directed by [[Philip Gnadt]] and [[Mickey Yamine]] |
'''''Gaza Surf Club''''' is a 2016 German [[documentary film]] directed by [[Philip Gnadt]] and [[Mickey Yamine]]. The film takes a "day in the life" approach and follows the story of a group of Gazans who practice surfing as a source of freedom in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] [[Gaza Strip]] coast. Also, the journey of the young Ibrahim, one of the surfers who travels to [[Hawaii]] looking for opportunities to create a surfing club in the Gaza Strip.<ref name="HWR">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gaza-surf-club-meet-young-924861 |title=TIFF: Meet the Young Middle Eastern Hopefuls of 'Gaza Surf Club' |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=7 September 2016 |accessdate=7 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37123847 |title=Oscar bait? Twelve films set to make a splash at Toronto |work=BBC News |date=7 September 2016 |accessdate=7 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Club |first=The Gaza Surf |title=The Gaza Surf Club |url=https://gazasurfclub.com/film |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=The Gaza Surf Club |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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The documentary took 5 years of filming, and it was screened for the first time in the Documentaries section at the [[2016 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web |url=http://www.tiff.net/films/gaza-surf-club/ |title=Gaza Surf Club |work=TIFF |date=7 September 2016 |accessdate=7 September 2016}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Apart from being the name of the 2016 documentary film, Gaza Surf Club is |
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== |
== Synopsis == |
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The film documents the story of a group of [[Palestinians]] who practice surfing as a recreational activity in their daily lives in the Mediterranean Gaza Strip coast. The film starts by focusing on the narrative of 3 people, which together provide an insight into the culture and reality of surfing in the Gaza Strip.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spiker |first=Rabia |date=2022-04-15 |title=Gaza Surf Club: Catching Waves in a War Zone |url=https://alchemiya.com/gaza-surf-club-catching-waves-in-a-war-zone/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Alchemiya |language=en-GB}}</ref> Later on, it follows the journey of Ibrahim, one of those 3 people who travels to Hawaii where a friend of his is waiting and where he hopes to get the inspiration and resources necessary to create a surfing club. |
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Therefore, the film has two main settings: the Gaza Strip, and Hawaii. During the first part of the documentary, the life of the surfers in Gaza is documented. Once Ibrahim travels to Hawaii, the two scenarios are interspersed. |
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Although the Gaza Strip is under the political turmoil and the humanitarian crisis causes by the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian conflict]], this documentary is not political, but focuses on surfing from the human experience. Thus, it tries to move away from the perspective of Gazans as victims and presents them as ordinary people with dreams and limits. However, their lifes, are inevitably affected by a conflict that does not cease, and this is a reality that is implicit in the documentary. <ref name=":0" /> |
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Due to the small piece of Mediterranean Sea accessible through the sieged Gaza City, surfing is one of the last activities still open to its population. The political turmoil however, challenges their enthusiasm and opportunities for surfing, as there are very limited resources available. The film explains how the surfers try to cope with adversity, and surf as best they can. Sometimes, their surfboards are made of wood, and not the right material. And since they don not have enough of them, they have to take turns to surf the waves. |
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The film begans by introducing the ordinary days and lives of people who in one way or another, are related or practice surfing in the Gaza Strip. And so, it begins by showing scenes and everyday conversations that the inhabitants live in Gaza. <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Citation |last=MAGNETFILM |title=Watch Gaza Surf Club Online {{!}} Vimeo On Demand |date=2018-09-12 |url=https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gazasurfclub |access-date=2023-05-16}}</ref> |
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Large part of the film is a "day in the life" story of the journey of Ibrahim to Hawaii. The directors accompany you from the flight to the arrival and welcome to the United States. There, his friend is waiting for him, who introduces him to the state and its beaches, and who takes him to different surf stores and surf clubs to learn about how the boards are made and to find ways to export them to Gaza. The documentary ends by explaining that Ibrahim did not return from Hawaii to the Gaza Strip. |
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As it picks up pace, it gives voice to 3 main characters. First, the elder fishermen '''Mohammed''' '''Aby Jayab''', who struggles to feed its family for the limited fish resources on the sea, and who is in charge of teaching surf to the young population. Also, presents the life of the young girl '''Sabah''', who is 15 years old and not allowed to surf because of her gender, social stigma, and cultural norms attached to it. Last, it presents the story of '''Ibrahim''', who with 23 years old dreams to create a surf shop and sport club in Gaza.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Citation |last=www.oberon.nl |first=Oberon Amsterdam |title=Gaza Surf Club (2016) - Philip Gnadt, Mickey Yamine {{!}} IDFA |url=https://www.idfa.nl/nl/film/44fa412e-29f8-490b-bb43-000f263c121a/gaza-surf-club |access-date=2023-05-17}}</ref> |
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== Production == |
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Their narratives help to understand what the culture of surfing is in Gaza and, what it means to its inhabitants and what their dreams and limits are in the sport. |
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Ibrahim tries to obtain its visa to travel to Hawaii, where a friend of him is waiting to provide materials for surfing, such as surfing boards and other training resources. |
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Mohammed Abu Jayab as himself, a 49-year-old fisherman, who struggles to feed his family using the limited fish resources on the sea, and is in charge of instructing surfing to the young population. |
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Sabah Abu Ghanem as herself, a 15-year-old girl who is fond of surfing. Girls in Gaza, unlike boys, are not allowed to surf anymore because of the social stigma and cultural norms attached to the female gender. However, Ghanem loves surfing, and in several scenes she appears practicing the aquatic activity. In addition, she removes her veil since it does not allow her to surf properly. She says she likes to think it is her choice whether to wear it or not. |
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The documentary film was screened for the first time at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] in 2016. Moreover, it was catalogued as the "Best of Fests" and "European Premiere" in IDFA, in the same year. |
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Ibrahim N. Arafat as himself, a 23-year-old man with hopes to own and run a surf shop & sport club to encourage the growth of the sport in the Gaza Strip. Arafat tries to obtain a visa which will allow him to travel to Hawaii, where a friend of his, Matthew Olsen, lives. He hopes to learn more about surfing there. His friend is waiting to provide materials for surfing, such as surfing boards and other training resources. |
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Matthew Olsen as himself |
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| ⚫ | The [[Gaza Strip]] is |
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Tom Stone as himself <ref name=":0" /> |
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[[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], in which Israel and the [[Palestinian territories|Occupied Territories]] are situated, has been under [[Roman Empire|Roman]], [[Arabs|Arab]], [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], [[British Empire|British]], Egyptian and Israeli rule. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Akbarzadeh |first=Shahram |title=Middle East politics and international relations. Crisis zone. |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=22}}</ref> After the [[Balfour Declaration]] in 1917, in which the [[Zionism|Zionists]] were promised a [[Jews|Jewish]] homeland in the state of Palestine and the protection of the non-Jewish communities. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Cleveland |first=William L. |title=A history of the Middle East |last2=Bunton |first2=Martin |publisher=Routledge |year=2018 |edition=6th |location=New York |pages=231-234}}</ref> The [[Peel Commission]] in 1937 suggested a [[two-state solution]]. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Clancy-Smith |first=Julia |title=The modern Middle East and North Africa. A history in documents. |last2=Clancy |first2=Charles D. |publisher=Oxford University Press. |year=2014 |location=New York |pages=188}}</ref> |
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On 14 May 1948 [[David Ben-Gurion|Ben-Gurion]] announced the establishment of the state of Israel as a state based on a Jewish identity and democracy. After the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|1948 war]] Israel gained 78% of the Palestine mandate and the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian rule. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Betty S. |title=A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2016 |location=Stanford, California |pages=282-289}}</ref> In 1967 the [[Six-Day War]] broke out. Israel gained control of the Occupied Territories (Gaza Strip, [[West Bank]] and [[East Jerusalem]]). <ref>{{Cite book |last=Akbarzadeh |first=Shahram |title=Middle East politics and international relations. Crisis zone. |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=42}}</ref> |
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After 5 years of filming, the documentary film was first screened at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] in 2016. It had its European premiere on 17 november 2016 at the [[International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam]] and was screened that same year in the [[Hawaii International Film Festival]]. In has participated in several more film festivals and documentary competitions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facebook Gaza Surf Club Film |website=[[Facebook]] |url=https://www.facebook.com/GazaSurfClubFilm/past_hosted_events}}</ref> |
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The journalist Andy Martin, described for [[The Independent]] the film as a documentary showing the reality of everyday life in Gaza without using stereotypes. Not just that, he offers a new insight by suggesting that there is a semblance between Palestine and Hawaii, the two scenarios of the film. He explains that Hawaii had been colonized by the United States the same way as Palestine is by Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Andy |date=7 September 2018 |title=In a place where surfboards are illegal, a surf club in Gaza has had to improvise. |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/gaza-surfing-ban-illegal-documentary-palestinians-a8525091.html |website=Independent}}</ref> |
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Just before signing [[Oslo Accords|The Oslo Accords]] in 1993, Israel established several checkpoints between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This unabled [[Palestinians]] travelling between the two areas. Consequences were most severe in the Gaza Strip, where a lot more people were dependant on Israeli jobs. Unemployment rose and living conditions worsened. Adding to the living conditions was the closing of the border each time Gaza launched an attack on Israel. This meant no goods could come in the Gaza Strip, like food, electricity, water, medication. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Betty S. |title=A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2016 |location=Stanford, California |pages=439}}</ref> |
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In 2005 Israel withdrew settlers from the Gaza Strip and established a security ring around it. This caused a lot of escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Akbarzadeh |first=Shahram |title=Middle East politics and international relations. Crisis zone. |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=70}}</ref> [[Hamas]] is a political wing, established in 1987 during the [[First Intifada]], of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Betty S. |title=A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2016 |location=Stanford, California |pages=349}}</ref> |
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After the establishment of the state of Israel approximately 750.000 Palestinians had fled because of massacres or fear of massacres in their villiages. In 2022 refugees form 65,3% of the population in Gaza Strip. Unemployment rates in Gaza Strip are 39,1% for men, 67,4% for women and 73,9% for youth. The percentage of the population under 29 is 68% and the percentage of people that is foodinsecure is 63%. The poverty rate is 53%. <ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2023 |title=UNSCO Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee |url=https://unsco.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unsco_ahlc_report_-_may_2023.pdf |url-status=live |website=https://unsco.unmissions.org/}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The [[Gaza Strip]] is the [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] territory that the documentary is about. The area is situated between the southwest of [[Israel]] and the northeast of the [[Sinai Peninsula]] ([[Egypt]]). It also has a coastline on the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. In 2022, the population is estimated at 2.166.269 people, making it the third most populated political entity in the world.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee 3 May 2023 |url=https://unsco.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unsco_ahlc_report_-_may_2023.pdf |website= |agency=UN}}</ref> |
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The Gaza Strip, together with the [[West Bank]], are the regions from the former [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]] that form the [[Palestinian territories]]. The geographical territory and rule of the area have been a source of conflict and its situation is a result of the non-stopping [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian]] conflict. |
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== Surfing in the Gaza Strip == |
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The territory is under Israeli military occupation since the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Betty S. |title=A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2016 |location=Stanford, California |pages=282–289}}</ref> and although in 2005 Israel withdrew settlers from the Gaza Strip, it established a security ring around it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Akbarzadeh |first=Shahram |title=Middle East politics and international relations. Crisis zone. |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=70}}</ref> Due to the closing of the borders each time an attack from Gaza is launched on Israel, there is a lack of electricity, drinking water, medication, and goods.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Betty S. |title=A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2016 |location=Stanford, California |pages=439}}</ref> Also unemployment, poverty and food insecurity are high.<ref name=":3" /> Today, the territory is self-governed but ruled by [[Hamas]], a Palestinian military and nationalist resistance organization. |
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=== Significance of surfing === |
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| ⚫ | The ocean is among the last |
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Access to their waters in the correspondent Mediterranean coast has been progressively denied to the population. Nowadays and since 2012, more than 85% of the maritime areas agreed to in 1995 have been denied to the fishermen.<ref>[https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/GazaIn2020.pdf Gaza in 2020: A liveable place?]', [[UNRWA]], August 2012</ref> |
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=== Surfing projects === |
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In 2005 the [https://surfing4peace.org/ Surfing 4 Peace] cooperation initiative was established by Doc Paskowitz. <ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Gartside |first=Luke |date=12 December 2019 |title=Between struggle & rubble; The besieged surfers of Gaza. |work=Wavelength volume 255 |url=https://wavelengthmag.com/struggle-besieged-surfers-gaza/}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Olsen |first=Matt |date=27 September 2012 |title=The Gaza Surf Club. The troubled times of an unlikely surf community. |url=https://www.surfer.com/features/the-gaza-surf-club |url-status=live |website=www.surfer.com}}</ref> He donated surfboards to Israeli Arab surfers and organised a surfing contest. One of the two surfers involved with the cooperation from Gaza was Mohammed Abu Jayab who later on is involved with the Gaza Surf Club. Surfing 4 Peace keeps working with local surfers in Gaza Strip to establish the sport and a clubhouse there. Another initiative to support the local surfers is Gaza Surf Relief. <ref name=":2" /> Surfing is a way to stand up against the authorities and to escape every day living conditions in Gaza. In 2010 Surfing 4 Peace donated 30 surfboards to the local surfers in Gaza. It took over two years and a lot of negotiations to get the surfboards into the Gaza Strip. Matt Olsen, one of the ambassadors of Surfing 4 Peace is also involved with the establishment of the Gaza Surf Club in 2008. <ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> |
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| ⚫ | The ocean, however, is among the last things that people in the Gaza Strip can enjoy, and a public space all the citizens have to share.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Olsen |first=Matt |date=27 September 2012 |title=The Gaza Surf Club. The troubled times of an unlikely surf community. |url=https://www.surfer.com/features/the-gaza-surf-club |website=www.surfer.com}}</ref> People surfing in the Gaza Strip find their way to freedom from their political and social situation in the aquatic activity. In this way, surfing is part of their daily lives and their culture. Surfing takes a very important role for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, has been transmitted generationally, and has an important meaning for their homeland.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaza Surf Club |url=https://revistaperiferias.org/en/materia/gaza-surf-club-for-the-full-right-to-surf/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Revista Periferias |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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=== Difficulties === |
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The political conflict and turmoil, the scarce supplies, and the lossing of right over their lands, makes it difficult for Gazans to surf.<ref name=":0" /> |
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The political conflict and turmoil, the scarce supplies, and the loss of rights over their lands make it difficult for Gazans to surf.<ref name=":0" /> Previous to the Gaza Surf Club, since 2005, the Surfing 4 Peace cooperation has been trying to donate surfboards. It took a lot of effort and difficulty to donate, as the security ring and checkpoints were not allowing them to cross.<ref name=":2" /> In 2010 [https://surfing4peace.org/ Surfing 4 Peace] donated 30 surfboards to the local surfers in Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Wavelength Surf |last2=Gartside |first2=Luke |date=2019-12-12 |title=Between Struggle & Rubble; The Besieged Surfers Of Gaza |url=https://wavelengthmag.com/struggle-besieged-surfers-gaza/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Wavelength Surf Magazine - since 1981 |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Apart from being the name of the 2016 documentary film, Gaza Surf Club is as well an actual sports club founded in 2008 in Gaza by the [https://explorecorps.org/ Explore Corps], a United States based non-for-profit organization. It is responsible for educational programs and community empowerment for the surfers in the Gaza Strip.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Corps |first=Explore |title=Explore Corps - Gaza Surf Club, Monterey Surf Camp |url=https://explorecorps.org/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Explore Corps |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{IMDb title|3415734|Gaza Surf Club}} |
* {{IMDb title|3415734|Gaza Surf Club}} |
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* [https://gazasurfclub.com/support https://gazasurfclub.com] |
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* https://surfing4peace.org/ |
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* https://explorecorps.org/ |
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[[Category:2016 films]] |
[[Category:2016 films]] |
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[[Category:Films set in the Gaza Strip]] |
[[Category:Films set in the Gaza Strip]] |
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[[Category:2010s German films]] |
[[Category:2010s German films]] |
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{{2010s-Germany-film-stub}} |
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{{sport-documentary-film-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 00:17, 30 April 2024
| Gaza Surf Club | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Philip Gnadt Mickey Yamine |
| Written by | Philip Gnadt Mickey Yamine |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | Arabic |
Gaza Surf Club is a 2016 German documentary film directed by Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine. The film takes a "day in the life" approach and follows the story of a group of Gazans who practice surfing as a source of freedom in the Mediterranean Gaza Strip coast. Also, the journey of the young Ibrahim, one of the surfers who travels to Hawaii looking for opportunities to create a surfing club in the Gaza Strip.[1][2][3]
The documentary took 5 years of filming, and it was screened for the first time in the Documentaries section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]
Synopsis
[edit]The film documents the story of a group of Palestinians who practice surfing as a recreational activity in their daily lives in the Mediterranean Gaza Strip coast. The film starts by focusing on the narrative of 3 people, which together provide an insight into the culture and reality of surfing in the Gaza Strip.[5] Later on, it follows the journey of Ibrahim, one of those 3 people who travels to Hawaii where a friend of his is waiting and where he hopes to get the inspiration and resources necessary to create a surfing club.
Therefore, the film has two main settings: the Gaza Strip, and Hawaii. During the first part of the documentary, the life of the surfers in Gaza is documented. Once Ibrahim travels to Hawaii, the two scenarios are interspersed.
Due to the small piece of Mediterranean Sea accessible through the sieged Gaza City, surfing is one of the last activities still open to its population. The political turmoil however, challenges their enthusiasm and opportunities for surfing, as there are very limited resources available. The film explains how the surfers try to cope with adversity, and surf as best they can. Sometimes, their surfboards are made of wood, and not the right material. And since they don not have enough of them, they have to take turns to surf the waves.
Large part of the film is a "day in the life" story of the journey of Ibrahim to Hawaii. The directors accompany you from the flight to the arrival and welcome to the United States. There, his friend is waiting for him, who introduces him to the state and its beaches, and who takes him to different surf stores and surf clubs to learn about how the boards are made and to find ways to export them to Gaza. The documentary ends by explaining that Ibrahim did not return from Hawaii to the Gaza Strip.
Production
[edit]Cast
[edit]Mohammed Abu Jayab as himself, a 49-year-old fisherman, who struggles to feed his family using the limited fish resources on the sea, and is in charge of instructing surfing to the young population.
Sabah Abu Ghanem as herself, a 15-year-old girl who is fond of surfing. Girls in Gaza, unlike boys, are not allowed to surf anymore because of the social stigma and cultural norms attached to the female gender. However, Ghanem loves surfing, and in several scenes she appears practicing the aquatic activity. In addition, she removes her veil since it does not allow her to surf properly. She says she likes to think it is her choice whether to wear it or not.
Ibrahim N. Arafat as himself, a 23-year-old man with hopes to own and run a surf shop & sport club to encourage the growth of the sport in the Gaza Strip. Arafat tries to obtain a visa which will allow him to travel to Hawaii, where a friend of his, Matthew Olsen, lives. He hopes to learn more about surfing there. His friend is waiting to provide materials for surfing, such as surfing boards and other training resources.
Matthew Olsen as himself
Tom Stone as himself [5]
Reception
[edit]After 5 years of filming, the documentary film was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. It had its European premiere on 17 november 2016 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and was screened that same year in the Hawaii International Film Festival. In has participated in several more film festivals and documentary competitions.[6]
The journalist Andy Martin, described for The Independent the film as a documentary showing the reality of everyday life in Gaza without using stereotypes. Not just that, he offers a new insight by suggesting that there is a semblance between Palestine and Hawaii, the two scenarios of the film. He explains that Hawaii had been colonized by the United States the same way as Palestine is by Israel.[7]
Context
[edit]Surfing in the Gaza Strip
[edit]The Gaza Strip is the Palestinian territory that the documentary is about. The area is situated between the southwest of Israel and the northeast of the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). It also has a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. In 2022, the population is estimated at 2.166.269 people, making it the third most populated political entity in the world.[8]
The Gaza Strip, together with the West Bank, are the regions from the former British Mandate for Palestine that form the Palestinian territories. The geographical territory and rule of the area have been a source of conflict and its situation is a result of the non-stopping Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The territory is under Israeli military occupation since the Six-Day War in 1967,[9] and although in 2005 Israel withdrew settlers from the Gaza Strip, it established a security ring around it.[10] Due to the closing of the borders each time an attack from Gaza is launched on Israel, there is a lack of electricity, drinking water, medication, and goods.[11] Also unemployment, poverty and food insecurity are high.[8] Today, the territory is self-governed but ruled by Hamas, a Palestinian military and nationalist resistance organization.
Access to their waters in the correspondent Mediterranean coast has been progressively denied to the population. Nowadays and since 2012, more than 85% of the maritime areas agreed to in 1995 have been denied to the fishermen.[12]
The ocean, however, is among the last things that people in the Gaza Strip can enjoy, and a public space all the citizens have to share.[13] People surfing in the Gaza Strip find their way to freedom from their political and social situation in the aquatic activity. In this way, surfing is part of their daily lives and their culture. Surfing takes a very important role for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, has been transmitted generationally, and has an important meaning for their homeland.[5][14]
The political conflict and turmoil, the scarce supplies, and the loss of rights over their lands make it difficult for Gazans to surf.[5] Previous to the Gaza Surf Club, since 2005, the Surfing 4 Peace cooperation has been trying to donate surfboards. It took a lot of effort and difficulty to donate, as the security ring and checkpoints were not allowing them to cross.[13] In 2010 Surfing 4 Peace donated 30 surfboards to the local surfers in Gaza.[15]
Apart from being the name of the 2016 documentary film, Gaza Surf Club is as well an actual sports club founded in 2008 in Gaza by the Explore Corps, a United States based non-for-profit organization. It is responsible for educational programs and community empowerment for the surfers in the Gaza Strip.[3][16]
See also
[edit]- God Went Surfing with the Devil, a related documentary film.
References
[edit]- ^ "TIFF: Meet the Young Middle Eastern Hopefuls of 'Gaza Surf Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Oscar bait? Twelve films set to make a splash at Toronto". BBC News. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ a b Club, The Gaza Surf. "The Gaza Surf Club". The Gaza Surf Club. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Gaza Surf Club". TIFF. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d Spiker, Rabia (15 April 2022). "Gaza Surf Club: Catching Waves in a War Zone". Alchemiya. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "Facebook Gaza Surf Club Film". Facebook.
- ^ Martin, Andy (7 September 2018). "In a place where surfboards are illegal, a surf club in Gaza has had to improvise". Independent.
- ^ a b "Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee 3 May 2023" (PDF). UN.
- ^ Anderson, Betty S. (2016). A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 282–289.
- ^ Akbarzadeh, Shahram (2022). Middle East politics and international relations. Crisis zone (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 70.
- ^ Anderson, Betty S. (2016). A history of the modern Middle East. Rulers, rebels, and rogues. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 439.
- ^ Gaza in 2020: A liveable place?', UNRWA, August 2012
- ^ a b Olsen, Matt (27 September 2012). "The Gaza Surf Club. The troubled times of an unlikely surf community". www.surfer.com.
- ^ "Gaza Surf Club". Revista Periferias. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Magazine, Wavelength Surf; Gartside, Luke (12 December 2019). "Between Struggle & Rubble; The Besieged Surfers Of Gaza". Wavelength Surf Magazine - since 1981. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Corps, Explore. "Explore Corps - Gaza Surf Club, Monterey Surf Camp". Explore Corps. Retrieved 17 May 2023.