Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
A heartbreaking documentary about Fatma Hassona, a young Palestinian photographer killed in an Israeli airstrike, told through video calls between her and the filmmaker.
Sepideh Farsi’s previous picture The Siren (R&A 2023) animated the Iran-Iraq war, of which the director had personal experience. Distant memories return with the onset of the Gazan genocide in 2023. Farsi hopes to go on location, but as this turns out to be impossible, she begins to film the Palestinians leaving Gaza. Through them she finds out about photojournalist Fatma Hassona, and the two strike up a virtual friendship in the spring of 2024.
The video diary tinged with technical difficulties and connectivity issues focuses on everyday life, but dreams too. Once in a while Hassona’s face freezes on the screen, and the frame is filled with her smile, showing the purest positivity, talent and resolution.
An Israeli airstrike killed Hassona and ten of her family members in their home in April 2025. Only a day earlier, the filmmakers had found out that their documentary would premiere at Cannes. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, born in the midst of mass destruction, is a bare and honest depiction of the time we live in.
Omar Fasolah (translated by Adrian Murtomäki)
Trailer
