Make Life Skate Life

Suli Skatepark 'Building the Dream'. In May 2018 I traveled to Sulaymaniyah, Kurdish Iraq to document the construction of the region's first skatepark. There are massive misconceptions about the region, the people and the situation in Kurdistan. From my own and all of the volunteers' experience of Sulaymaniyah, it is a stable, safe and welcoming city with unparalleled hospitality. This film is essentially part 1, documenting construction and our experiences there, including visiting a Syrian refugee camp to demonstrate and get the kids hyped on skateboarding. In the months since construction, refugees are regularly bussed to the skatepark and given skateboard lessons. The skateboard park has had an incredible impact on the community within Sulaymaniyah with the scene growing from a literal five skateboarders before construction to over 50 with many families visiting and hanging out at the park. Female participation is also very high approaching fifty percent. In 2020 I will return to Sulaymaniyah to document the impact the park has had and continues to have almost two years after it's construction. Filmed, edited and directed by James Holman Music Licences via Premiumbeat.com and Musicbed.com Produced by Arne Hillerns, Jon Chaconas, Samantha Robison and James Holman From Make Life Skate Life: In May 2018, 45 international volunteers from 15 countries worked with local youth to build Suli Skatepark, providing a safe space for skateboarding in the community. Construction of the 650 m² concrete skatepark was completed in three weeks, making it the country's first skatepark and the first international standard skatepark in the entire region. In 2018, with the support of Skateistan, Decks for Change and The Skateroom, we ran a volunteer-led skate program at Suli Skatepark. We provided weekly skate classes to groups of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons in Iraq (IDP). The classes took place at Suli Skatepark and served 30 girls and boys every week. Due to the growing demand for learning skateboarding at Suli Skatepark, it became vital to expand the beginner's area of the skatepark. The 150m² Suli Skatepark extension was completed in March 2019 and ensures the safety for beginners as the locals progress in their skateboarding skills.

MLSL recently held a fundraiser in conjunction with three artists and the Skateroom to raise money for our programme in Suli to provide outreach sessions and skateboard classes for 1 year. This video was used to show an abridged version of our story to encourage potential donors to support the project.

I've been working for Make Life Skate Life for a little while now, whilst following their projects for a lot longer. After crowd funding skateparks in Myanmar, Nepal, Ethiopia and beyond, Levi's came on board to fund this one in Morocco. MLSL flew me out to Taghazout to film some short profiles on some of the volunteers there and to showcase the park once it was completed. Shot on Sony Fs7. www.makelifeskatelife.org www.jamesholmanfilm.com

Abdel Idizal initiated Taghazout Skatepark to give something back to his country. This is the first of six profiles in our CMPS (pronounced compass) series for Make Life Skate Life. Shot on Sony Fs7 and iPhone 7.

Jenna Hirt runs Donate For Skate which provided skate gear at Taghazout Skatepark to make sure that everyone had access to skateboarding and experiencing the new park. This is the second of six profiles in our CMPS (pronounced compass) series for Make Life Skate Life. Shot on Sony Fs7.

Coming Soon

Sloan Palder of 5th Pocket Skateparks came to build Taghazout Skatepark so that the kids have something that's quality and lasting. This is the fourth of six profiles in our CMPS (pronounced compass) series for Make Life Skate Life. Shot on Sony Fs7.

Local business owner Aziza explains how skateboarding ties in with the change Taghazout has experienced. This is the fifth of six profiles in our CMPS (pronounced compass) series for Make Life Skate Life. Shot on Sony Fs7.