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Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

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Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Film poster
Directed bySepideh Farsi
Produced byJavad Djavahery
CinematographySepideh Farsi
Edited by
  • Sepideh Farsi
  • Farahnaz Sharifi
Music byCinna Peyghamy
Production
companies
  • Rêves d'Eau Productions
  • 24images Production
Distributed byNew Story
Release dates
  • 15 May 2025 (2025-05-15) (Cannes)
  • 24 September 2025 (2025-09-24) (France)
Running time
110 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Palestine
  • Iran
Languages

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is a 2025 documentary film directed by Sepideh Farsi, depicting life in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli military campaign, captured through Farsi's video calls with a young woman living there.[3] A co-production between France, Palestine and Iran, the documentary had its world premiere at the ACID parallel section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2025.[4]

Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, interviewed by Farsi for the film, was killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside nine members of her family on 16 April 2025, the day after the film was selected for the ACID section.[5][6][7] The festival released an official statement expressing condolences and criticizing the ongoing violence in Gaza.[8]

Production

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The film was produced by Javad Djavahery of Rêves d'Eau Productions and co-produced by Annie Ohayon Dekel of 24images Production.[9]

Unable to enter Gaza, the producers turned to Fatima Hassouna, a young photographer in the north of the territory, to document life under Israeli siege.[10] In April 2024, director Sepideh Farsi had travelled to Cairo, where she filmed Palestinian refugees in the Egyptian capital. In Cairo, a man who had just left Gaza told her about Fatima Hassouna, a "young, brilliant and talented photographer". Farsi contacted Hassouna and after just two conversations with her, the idea arose to make a film from her point of view, about her life and that of the people trapped in the regularly bombarded coastal strip. The film is based on this almost year-long video exchange between the two women.[11] The recorded video conversations are occasionally supplemented by short news reports providing context.[12]

Release

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The film was selected to be screened in the ACID section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 15 May 2025.[13] It is set to be released in French theaters on 24 September 2025, distributed by New Story.[14]

Reception

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An open letter[15] published in the run-up to the Cannes opening ceremony, condemning Hassouna's killing and denouncing the industry's "passivity" and "silence" regarding the events in Gaza, was signed by more than 350 actors, directors and producers – among them Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Joaquin Phoenix, Guillermo del Toro, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen and Javier Bardem.[16][17][18][19] Juliette Binoche, the jury president of the film festival, honoured Hassouna at the opening of the festival with the words: "She should have been here among us this evening [...] Art remains. It is a powerful testimony of our lives and dreams; and we, the audience, embrace it."[20]

Jordan Mintzer's review in The Hollywood Reporter called the film "intimate portrait of a gifted young woman living through hell ... Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is ultimately less a documentary exposé than a piece of raw unfiltered evidence, bearing witness to a tragedy that continues to unfold as this review is being written. The film, and Hassona's eye-opening photographs, will one day be added to the historical record detailing what happened in Gaza – which, in a broader sense, is also about what has happened to our civilization."[12]

Allan Hunter of Screen International commented, "There is no hint of self-pity in Hassona's words as she describes the death of a friend or an aunt whose head is found in a different street to her body. She constantly thinks of others, helping to distribute any available aid to hungry children. Her cheerful optimism in the face of terrible conditions is inspirational. [...] Hassona's optimism even endures in their last call of April 15th, 2025 as she receives the news that their film has been accepted for Cannes. Hassona and members of her family were killed the following day. Farsi's film now stands as a powerful memorial to someone who was both ordinary and extraordinary."[21]

France 24 reported that few films had attracted more attention at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival than the premiere of Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk, which "drew tears and a lengthy standing at an emotional premiere".[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Cannes Selects Film on Gaza Photographer Fatma Hassona; A Day Later, She's Killed in Israeli Strike". Democracy Now!. 18 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  3. ^ Roxborough, Scott (15 April 2025). "Cannes: ACID Sidebar Unveils 2025 Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  4. ^ Balaga, Marta (15 April 2025). "Cannes Section ACID Announces Selection, From a 'Feel-Good Movie About Depression' to a New Drama With Paris Olympics 'Blue Man'". Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  5. ^ Dalton, Ben (17 April 2025). "Cannes ACID responds to death of Fatma Hassona, subject of 2025 film selection, killed in Gaza". Screen International. Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  6. ^ Roxborough, Scott (17 April 2025). "Palestinian Journalist and Protagonist in Cannes-Bound Documentary Killed in Gaza". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  7. ^ Balaga, Marta (17 April 2025). "Fatma Hassona, the Palestinian Protagonist of Cannes-Bound 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,' Killed in Israeli Missile Strike". Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Tribute to Fatma Hassona". Festival de Cannes. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  9. ^ Pedersen, Lise (8 April 2025). "Brazil's Anti-Femicide Patrol and Mexico's Queer Rodeo Scene Among Tales Told in Visions du Réel's Work in Progress Section". Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  10. ^ Dalton, Ben. "Cannes ACID responds to death of Fatma Hassona, subject of 2025 film selection, killed in Gaza". Screen International. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Gaza photojournalist Fatma Hassona killed in a strike with 10 of her relatives". Le Monde. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  12. ^ a b Mintzer, Jordan (15 May 2025). "'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk' Review: An Intimate Portrait of Life and Death in Gaza, Haunted by a Tragic Twist". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  13. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Cannes Film Festival: Emotions run high at screening of documentary on photojournalist Fatma Hassona, killed in Gaza". Le Monde. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Artists for Fatem". artists4fatem.org. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  16. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (12 May 2025). "Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, David Cronenberg & Javier Bardem Join 380 Cinema Figures In Open Letter Condemning Silence Over Gaza – Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  17. ^ Ritman, Alex (13 May 2025). "Mark Ruffalo, Guy Pearce, Melissa Barrera and Ralph Fiennes Among 350+ Figures to Sign Letter About Killing of Palestinian Protagonist of Cannes-Bound Doc: 'We Are Ashamed' of Industry 'Passivity' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  18. ^ Vojdani, Jasmine (13 May 2025). "Filmmakers Denounce Industry 'Silence' About the Killing of Cannes Film Subject". Vulture. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  19. ^ "More Hollywood stars join protest letter over Gaza 'genocide'". Yahoo News. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  20. ^ "Cannes honours Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna at documentary premiere". The Independent. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  21. ^ Hunter, Allan. "'Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk' review: Gaza documentary is a poignant final testimony". Screen International. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  22. ^ "Louder than bombs: Cannes screens tribute to Gaza photojournalist who refused a quiet death". France 24. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
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