Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025): A Testament to Hope Amid Destruction
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| Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025) |
When numbers of casualties rise daily and headlines blur into statistics, few films manage to humanize the faces behind those figures. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025), directed by Sepideh Farsi, is one of those rare documentaries that restores humanity to tragedy. Through an exchange of video calls and shared emotion, it tells the story of Fatma Hassona, a young Palestinian photojournalist living in Gaza — until her life was cut short by an airstrike in 2024.
This Iranian-French co-production has already moved audiences worldwide for its tenderness, restraint, and its urgent political heart.
📅 Release Date and Film Details
- Title: Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
- World Premiere: 15 May 2025 – Cannes Film Festival (ACID section)
- Theatrical Release: 24 September 2025 – France
- Language: Arabic / Persian / English (subtitled)
- Genre: Documentary / War / Human Rights
- Director: Sepideh Farsi
- Writer: Sepideh Farsi
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Country: France / Iran / Palestine
Following its Cannes debut, the film received critical acclaim for its compassion and its unfiltered portrayal of life under siege.
🎥 Story Summary: A Friendship Across Screens
At its core, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is a deeply personal dialogue between filmmaker Sepideh Farsi and Fatma Hassona, a 24-year-old photojournalist documenting her life in Gaza. Their friendship unfolds entirely through WhatsApp video calls, Fatma’s photographs, and fragments of breaking news from the war zone.
The film explores distance — not just geographical, but digital and emotional. The calls are shaky, pixelated, often cut by poor signals, yet the warmth between the two women fills every frame. Fatma’s optimism, even in the face of violence, is what defines the film.
She laughs as the sea breeze reaches her phone’s mic, smiles while showing the pictures of her loved ones — thirteen of whom she later loses to bombings — and proudly proclaims her identity as Palestinian despite unimaginable loss.
“How does it feel to be Palestinian in these times?” Farsi asks.
“Proud,” Fatma replies without hesitation.
Just a day after learning that the film had been selected by Cannes, Fatma and her family were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike. The film, once a conversation, becomes a eulogy — an enduring monument to a spirit that refused to break.
👩🎤 Cast and Key Figures
While there are no traditional actors, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk thrives on two real voices:
- Fatma Hassona – The 24-year-old Palestinian photojournalist whose courage anchors the film.
- Sepideh Farsi – The Iranian filmmaker behind the project, also known for The Siren (2023) and Tehran Without Permission (2009).
Their dynamic is intimate and respectful, turning everyday video chats into an act of artistic resistance.
🎬 Trailer and Visual Style
The trailer, first revealed shortly after Cannes, weaves together fragments of WhatsApp calls, Fatma’s photographs, and the ambient sounds of Gaza — drones humming, waves crashing, static-filled voices.
Filmed partially on Farsi’s iPhone, the visuals carry an authenticity that no studio setup could match. Each flicker and freeze becomes part of the film’s emotional vocabulary — a poetic reminder of fragility in communication and survival alike.
🎵 Sound and Songs
The film doesn’t rely on a traditional soundtrack or musical numbers. Instead, its soundscape is drawn from reality — the wind, static, laughter, and silence.
Every sound carries emotional weight, allowing viewers to experience the rhythm of Fatma’s existence. This grounded design complements Farsi’s minimalist direction, immersing us in the environment rather than distracting from it.
📺 OTT Release and Streaming Updates
After its Cannes and French theatrical runs, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is expected to arrive on major streaming services like MUBI, Netflix, or Amazon Prime Video in early 2026.
Documentary enthusiasts and human rights advocates are eagerly awaiting its digital release to bring Fatma’s story to a wider global audience.
⚡ Controversy and Conversations
Unsurprisingly, the documentary has ignited strong political discussions. While many critics and festival audiences have hailed it as an act of resistance and a testament to truth, some groups have labeled it “politically charged.”
Yet, the film’s power lies not in taking sides, but in giving voice to the voiceless. It’s a portrait of dignity amid devastation — and a mirror held up to the world’s conscience.
💡 Themes and Symbolism
- Digital Distance as Connection: Farsi transforms technology into emotional intimacy, showing how screens can both connect and divide.
- Faith Through Adversity: Fatma’s smile becomes an act of defiance — proof that hope itself is political.
- Art as Memory: The documentary preserves moments that history might otherwise erase.
These motifs make Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk not just a film but a living archive — a cinematic resistance against forgetting.
💭 Final Verdict
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025) stands as one of the most emotionally profound documentaries of the year. Farsi’s decision to tell Fatma’s story through screens and static creates intimacy without intrusion, heartbreak without spectacle.
The film moves from observation to elegy, from conversation to prayer. It’s a sobering reminder that while stories end, their echoes can continue to inspire — and to challenge our comfort as distant spectators.
By honoring Fatma Hassona’s unbreakable optimism, Farsi gives us more than a film — she gives us a moral imperative to see, feel, and remember.
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In conclusion, Sepideh Farsi’s Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025) immortalizes Fatma Hassona’s spirit — proof that courage, captured through a flickering screen, can still light up the darkest of wars.
 Review – Sepideh Farsi’s Poignant Gaza Documentary){kind=link}