How Kids Roll (Italian: I bambini di Gaza – Sulle onde della libertà, lit.

'The Children of Gaza – On the Waves of Freedom') is a 2024 drama film directed by Loris Lai in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Dahlia Heyman, freely inspired by the 2013 Italian novel Sulle onde della libertà (lit.

It tells the story of two boys, one Palestinian and the other Israeli, who form an unlikely friendship due to their mutual love for surfing amidst the war in the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada in 2003.

Two 11-year-old boys, Mahmud and Alon, one Palestinian and the other Israeli, form an unlikely friendship due to their mutual love for surfing amidst the war in Gaza during the Second Intifada.

How Kids Roll is the feature directorial debut of Italian-American filmmaker Loris Lai,[2] who co-wrote the screenplay along with Dahlia Heyman, freely inspired by the 2013 Italian novel Sulle onde della libertà by Nicoletta Bortolotti.

[14] The film is a co-production between Italy's Jean Vigo Italia, Eagle Pictures,[3] B-Roll,[1] Panoramic Film,[1] and Rai Cinema,[3] along with Lawrence Bender Productions from the United States,[2][3] and Belgium's Potemkino,[3] with the support of Eurimages, Lazio Cinema International Fund, and the Italian Ministry of Culture.

[11] Lai said that he did not change anything in the film following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in October 2023, where over 12,000 Palestinian children have been killed.

[10] After watching the film,[12] Pope Francis said in a statement published by Italian news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA) on 8 March 2024, "This film with the hopeful voices of Palestinian and Israeli children will be a great contribution to education in brotherhood, social friendship and peace.