Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is a portrait of life and resistance. The film gives a voice to Fatma Hassouna, a 24-year-old photojournalist from Gaza. Fatma walks us through her everyday life and the lives of many Palestinians under the Israeli occupation. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is a deeply emotional documentary about the difficulties Gaza has been experiencing.
“If I die, I want a loud death. I don’t want to be just breaking news or a number in a group. I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place,” said Fatma Hassouna.
A Story Between Two Worlds
The film follows an Iranian filmmaker who sets out to make her last film, but instead connects, through a series of video calls, with Fatma Hassouna, a young Palestinian photojournalist living through the genocide in Gaza. The director blends between the video calls, giving us an intimate window into Fatma’s world, her family, and the daily reality of survival under occupation, and the news about Gaza on the television.
We see Fatma’s face on a screen within another screen, a visual metaphor for distance and disconnection, yet her warmth, smile, and resilience pierce through the frame. Her spirit fills the film. Fatma Hassouna is a talented artist who sings, writes poetry, and photographs life amid rubble, capturing both hope and heartbreak.
Through Fatma’s Lens
The film features Fatma’s own photographs in Gaza, powerful images of Palestinians living, resisting, and mourning. Her pictures show children smiling through despair, families standing beside destroyed homes, and streets turned to ruins, yet not losing hope. As the film progresses, her photos grow more heartbreaking, full of bloodshed and loss, becoming impossible to look away from.
A Tragic End Too Familiar
Fatma’s story ends like many in Gaza. Before she could see the film’s success, she was killed, just days after celebrating news that the film would screen at the Cannes Film Festival. Her excitement, her laughter, and her unwavering hope are immortalized on screen, even as her life was cut short by the Israeli occupation.
Raw, Intimate, and Human
Director Sepideh Farsi abandons polished cinematic aesthetics for honesty and intimacy. Filmed through a mobile phone lens, making the documentary feel raw, immediate, and painfully real. Farsi originally intended to document the war on the ground but was unable to enter Gaza due to the blockade. Instead, she found in Fatma her eyes and voice inside Gaza.
Having lived through war in Iran herself, Farsi connects with Fatma on a personal level. The film becomes a collaboration of empathy, bridging two women across borders and wars, united in their shared humanity.
A Testament to Courage
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is not just a film; it’s a living archive of resilience. Through Fatma’s art and Farsi’s direction, it reminds us that even in destruction, there are voices that refuse silence. Fatma’s photographs became her lasting legacy, one that will echo far beyond Gaza, in every image she left behind. Making the film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, a portrait of life and resistance.