Slingshot Hip Hop

This is the story of how Arabic kids inside Israel and the occupied territories discover rap as a tool for expression and political resistance. Poverty, bombings, police harassment, separation walls, life on the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank; there is no shortage of subjects to rap about for these rebels-with-a-cause. And for the female artists, there are even more borders to cross.

Slingshot Hip Hop is centered on the first-ever Palestinian rap act, known as both DAM and Da Arabic Mc’s, but the viewer also gets to know some of the newcomers: PR (Palestinian Rapperz), Arapeyat, Mahmoud Shalabi and Abeer, also known as Sabreena Da Witch. Originally emulating American rappers like 2Pac and Public Enemy, they soon make it a subculture of their own. Songs like DAM’s “Meen Erhabi?”, “Who’s the Terrorist?, have not only kept the scene alive, but have also managed to reach far beyond their own circles.

Shot with handheld cameras and narrated by the rappers themselves, Jackie Reem Salloum’s film offers a disturbing glimpse into one of the most violent corners of the world, as well as a vibrant testimony to the power of expression.

Premiere Status
Nordic Premiere: Cast
DAM: Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar, Mahmoud Jreri, Mahmoud Shalabi PR: Mohammed Al Farra, Motaz Alhweihi, Mahmoud Fayad ARAPEYAT: Nahwa Abed Al’al, Safaa Hathoot, Abeer Al Zinati, Ibrahim Abu Rahala WEH: Alaa Bishara, Adi Krayem, Anan Kse: Producer
Rumzi Araj, Jackie Reem Salloum, Waleed Zaiter: Music
A compilation of music from the rappers in the film, and more.: Spoken language
Arabic