Plot

In her relentless pursuit of a memory that reinforces her sense of belonging, Areeb crosses paths with Ahmad, a Parkour athlete in Gaza. Nostalgia meets with ambition, and the weight of a confined past meets with an unpredictable future.

In the documentary Yalla Parkour, filmmaker Areeb revisits Gaza, a place she first encountered at age 4 with her late mother. After her mother's passing in 2012, Areeb's nostalgia for her homeland resurfaces when she sees a video of Gaza's young men practicing Parkour amid explosions. Reconnecting with Ahmad, one of the athletes in the video, Areeb embarks on a journey through Gaza's devastated landscape, exploring both Parkour sites and symbols of Palestinian spirit. As Areeb experiences Gaza through Ahmad's eyes, she confronts the harsh reality of the open-air prison Gaza has become, contrasting it with her own life in the US and her mother's legacy. Ahmad's eventual escape to Sweden and his subsequent struggle with separation and bureaucracy highlight the pain of diaspora and the longing for home. A decade later, Ahmad, now a Swedish citizen and Parkour teacher, returns to Gaza just before the current disaster strikes, while Areeb faces the evolving reality of her homeland, uncertain of its future and her place within it.—Kinana Films