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Shahla Yasini is the first Iranian woman who ever surfed in Iran. Diver and lifeguard, Shahla has always had a strong connection to water especially to the Indian Ocean. However, she would never anticipated that in 2013 the professional Irish Surfer Easkey Britton would extend her the invitation of being among the first women team surfing in that same Indian Ocean. Partnered with another Iranian athlete ( Mona Seraji ), Easkey and Shahla found the perfect surfing spot in the beach of Ramin, a stretch of sea near a harbour with good waves throughout the summer. Back then, they didn’t know they were about to pioneer something that would change history for the Iranian youth. Surfing Iran started off in 2017 as a photo story focusing on Shahla Yasini, a strong, charismatic and proud woman, the Iranian woman who witnessed and lead the arrival of an unimaginable sport for Iran, a mostly desert country. A couple of years later it ended up becoming a beautiful friendship, and a story of a trip to one of the least explored areas of the country. I went back to Iran in 2019 with a Surfboard for Shahla that had been donated by an Italian surfing association and our journey through some nights out in Tehran, a surfing journey to Chabahar, a road trip from the southern point of Iran until the famous Persian gulf continued. The story of Shahla Yasini is not over, perhaps it will continue in Iran or in Europe, this is surely an ongoing project and a friendship that will continue for a long time.
Giulia Frigieri - an Italian documentary photographer and storyteller. Her work focuses on representation of youth, womanhood and exploration of identity throughout the SWANA region and the Mediterranean. Giulia moved to London at the age of 19 where she undertook a BA degree in Anthropology and Media at Goldsmiths University and where she lived for over six years. Her passion for portraiture and storytelling blossomed throughout university, motivating her the pursue of a proper career in photography in 2016 when she enrolled to a photojournalism program in Aarhus, Denmark at the Danish school of Media and Journalism. Her work aims at exploring visual narratives of the Arab communities ( both in the SWANA region and in Europe) and the Mediterranean youth that would disrupt stereotypes and misconceptions, shedding light on stories of courage and empowerment throughout multiple fields, from documentary to fashion editorials. Her series Surfing Iran has been selected for multiple awards such as portrait of Humanity in 2019 and Single Shot award at Festival of Fotografia Etica in Lodi, Italy in June 2019. Her work has been published by Italian and foreign magazines such as D la Repubblica, Il Corriere della Sera, Millenium, i-D magazine, The Guardian, Vogue Arabia, Zeit, Aperture Foundation and British Journal of Photography & Open Society Foundation. Giulia is now based in Paris.