Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk

Co-presented by Arab Film & Media Institute

“One of the year’s top Oscar contenders.” – Matthew Carey, Deadline

“A tremendously moving portrait of resistance under siege.” – Isaac Feldberg, RogerEbert.com

“Subtle and shattering.” – Nicolas Rapold, Documentary Magazine

“A powerful memorial to someone who was both ordinary and extraordinary.” – Allan Hunter, Screen Daily

“The film proves stirring in its capacity for hope against all odds, while also placing on full display the cost of occupation, portraying the full extent of the lives and dreams dashed by war.” – Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk offers an intimate, first-hand perspective on life under siege in Gaza, captured through video calls between director Sepideh Farsi and 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and poet Fatma Hassona. Combining raw immediacy with deep humanity, the film captures daily life during the conflict through the eyes and unwaveringly optimistic presence of Fatma, a talented photographer whose generation is trapped in an endless cycle of war, famine, and resistance. Her conversations with Farsi bring us into the heart of the conflict, even while their physical distance underscores the dire situation inside Gaza. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is an essential document that now stands as a heartfelt memorial and final testament: Fatma and her family were tragically killed by a targeted Israeli airstrike on April 16, one day after the film was announced as a selection of the Cannes Film Festival.