ISSUE 42 | VERTICALLIFEMAG.COM
RESISTANCE CLIMBING Featuring: Andrew Bisharat Location: Palestine Duration: 40 minutes
Urwah Askar climbs on route graded 7c at Yabrud. Reel Rock / Austin Siadak
Resistance Climbing is the only one of the three film shoots that Zac joined this time. The film follows Andrew Bisharat, an American who has been climbing and writing about climbing his whole life, on his first visit to Palestine. He joins a diverse community of climbers in the conflict-ridden West Bank as they connect with the land and seek respite from the burdens of the Israeli occupation “The climbers tell us and give examples of what their daily life is like under occupation. What is Palestine, who are Palestinians... and what has climbing done for them,” said Zac. “One of the points of the movie is that in a place like Palestine climbing has this importance that might be difficult for others to understand, because the conflict is about land and about freedom and freedom of movement, and those things are being taken away from Palestinians.” “Andrew’s great grandfather was Palestinian, they lost their home in 1948 when Israel was created. In many ways his family’s story traces the modern history of Palestine and Israel,” said Zac.
“He grew up American with this Palestinian last name, and didn’t know too much about his heritage. He packed it away a little bit because, as he says in the movie, Arabs were always the bad guys in the movies in the 1980s when he was growing up.” Rock climbing is fairly new in Palestine too. Only eight years or so ago there were no Palestinian rock climbers in the West Bank, but a group of American’s who were living there began a program to introduce the sport locally. Zac added that when Reel Rock reached out to the Palestinian climbers to propose making the film, “it felt really special for them”. And in turn, the trip held special meaning for Zac. “I’ve grown really close with a number of people who are in the film and I’ve learned a lot about what it‘s like to be Palestinian,” he said. “It’s an important story and it’s a good movie. It’s relevant to our world beyond climbing, and we just want to make the best films we can and pursue things that are important.” AUTUMN 2023 23
