Skateboard Artivism

Already familiar with images of war and destruction from the media, this project asks the real question….“What does an instrument of peace look like?” For one group of youth from the Middle East, the unlikely answer is a skateboard.

Sour is about a group of Israeli and Jordanian skaters, jumping borders and culture barriers to share a united passion for skating and life. It aims to capture an important viewpoint that the news reports miss by putting the camera into the hands of local teenagers with little or no prior experience in making a film. This very process helps us showcase acts of peaceful rebellion, community action, and outreach that unify people who would otherwise never meet. In essence, Sour is a film about doing the things you love with people you’re not supposed to like.

Filmed during the Lebanon-Israel war of 2006, Sour features a youthful ensemble of top Arab and Israeli skaters, including Idan “Aziz” Abra, Noam Beer, Tzahi Einat, Udi Hasson, Mohammed Kahil, Omar Nash, Saif Qaisi, Hamzeh Zahran, and Mohammed Zakaria.

Rent or Buy the film at Reframe.

Visit Sour’s website at sourcrew.com

Film Festivals and Awards for Sour: Best Content Award- Boston International Film Festival (2008); Official Selection- Bend Film (2007), Arab Film Festival Los Angeles and San Francisco (2007), Eilat International Film Festival (Israel, 2008), Shoot Me Film Festival (The Netherlands, 2009), and Proud2Be Moviegoers Series (UK, 2009)

Skateboarding was born in the streets by youth who wanted a different way to interpret their urban environment. It was their tool that defied convention and created a movement that had no rules, regulations, contests, or winners. With time this movement has flourished in some of the most unlikely places, transforming crowded cities with mazes of jumbled concrete into a skaters’ playground. Smile portrays this aspect of skateboarding, specifically the attraction to creatively reevaluate your surroundings in a positive way. This is the story of teaching skateboarding in one of the poorest slums of Bangalore, India. For six months Nathan volunteered at the Deepika School where he used the skateboard to foster creative expression and encourage personal growth among the children. Smile follows the challenges, joys, laughter, and tears of this epic journey.

Smile Book

theBedouins designed a forty page photo-journalism style book covering the Smile project. It includes excerpts and poems from Nathan’s journal as well as quotes from the children, alongside vivid color photographs.

To contribute to the enhancement of world peace, with a commitment to inspire peaceful resolution of conflicts through human experiences that resonate across divides. Specifically, we develop creative projects that inspire humanity by blending popular arts and interests with history, facts, and perspectives of real people living the conflicts. These educational projects focus on conflict-ridden regions worldwide and aspire to facilitate meaningful dialogue among youth as well as encourage individuals to use their unique talents for peace.