Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk offers an intimate, first-hand perspective of life in Gaza, told through a series of video calls between filmmaker Sepideh Farsi and young Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona. Their digital dialogue became a vital record, bearing witness to everyday life, loss, and acts of resistance amid escalating violence.
Just a day after the film’s selection at Cannes, Fatma was tragically killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home. This heartbreaking loss deepens the film’s impact, which combines raw immediacy with profound humanity to portray the stark realities of daily life during conflict, seen through the eyes of those trapped in an endless cycle of war and living under siege.
“From the director’s side, I imagine her experiences growing up in Iran were part of why she wanted to make the film. There she experienced the revolution at 13 before being imprisoned at 16 as a dissident, then leaving at 18 to build a new home in France. It means she understands the pull of a homeland in a way that many wouldn’t, and she comes to the story with a depth of compassion and understanding that are rare.”
Wendy Cook, Head of Cinema HPPH
