Put Your Hand On Your Soul And Walk
Directed by Sepideh Farsi
★★★★★

A HAUNTING testament to the resilience of Palestinians under siege in Gaza.

Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi flew to Cairo with the intention of taking the Rafah crossing into Gaza to film the plight of Palestinians trapped in the ghetto. She was predictably refused entry but spoke with Palestinian refugees who put her in touch with Fatma Hassona, a 24 year-old Palestinian woman and gifted photographer.

The whole documentary, made between June 2024 and April 2025, consists solely of videoed mobile phone conversations between Fatma and Sepideh.

We first see Fatma on Sepideh’s small screen: an attractive woman with an infectious smile, which hardly ever leaves her face, despite the horrors she is enduring.

The conversation takes place in broken English. Asking perceptive questions, Sepideh encourages Fatma to relate her daily life and to send her images of what her neighbourhood has become. Her photographs reveal a talented artist. Her images are reminiscent of Dresden or Hamburg after the carpet bombing of the allies during WWII, or even of Hiroshima.

In one conversation, Fatma complains that she has a headache because of the continuous bombing and whine of fighter jets; we can hear this on the soundtrack.

Even when she tells Sepideh how many members of her family she has already lost, her seraphic smile remains on her face. How does she hold on to her obvious love of life? She is a devout Muslim and believes Allah has a purpose even with this war. It strengthens the people’s resolve, reinforces their bravery and conviction. Even if they all die, in the end the Palestinian people will be victorious, she believes.

I doubt many who watch this film will share her remarkable optimism.

Sepideh, herself a refugee from the Iranian regime, says that meeting Fatma “was like a mirror held in front of me, and it made me realise how both our lives are conditioned by walls and wars.” As she films, she realises each conversation could be their last as Israeli bombs continue to pound Gaza.

During their last conversation, Sepideh reveals to her the film has been chosen to be shown in Cannes and asks if she would like to be there for the premiere. Fatma would love to, she has never been outside Gaza.

On April 16 while asleep in her apartment she was killed with six other members of her family in what must have been a targeted attack by the Israelis.

In memory of:
Fatma Hassona
Walaa Hassona
Alaa Hassona
Mohammed Hassona
Muhanned Hassona
Yazan Hassona
Raed Hassona

Since October 7, 2023, at least 211 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army.

In cinemas now