What comes after the making and filming of Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is something no one wishes. Yet, it changes the way one can look at this stellar story.
As a documentary, it is informative and impactful. Farsi might never have known what the results of her film would be when she set out to document. But now, many months later, she has created the most distinguished tribute.
Written by Hailey Passmore
We could never truly imagine or understand what Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing or how they are feeling. They are immensely resilient and brave. Fighting in every way to get through this tragic experience, even if that fight is simply living through each day. There are so many stories of these stellar individuals that may never be known. Lives that are taken that we will never know are gone.
“For every time we connect and I can see her face, it feels like a miracle.”
In Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi’s latest attempt to document the war in Gaza, a blocked road will not stop her from what she set out to do. Farsi began video calling a young Palestinian photojournalist named Fatma Hassona. Through a series of video calls, Fatma explains how life is confined in Gaza while the regional conflict ensues. These video calls provide an insight into the realities those living in Gaza go through.
War, resistance, and survival. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk brings audiences an intimate, first-hand perspective of living in Gaza. Unconventional, some may say, with Farsi filming handheld, each thing she sees. Whether that be her calls with Fatma, walking through her house chasing her cat, or the news on the television. Yet, this choice allows the documentation to be presented and felt more intimately.
“How much both of our lives are conditioned by walls are wars.”
There is nothing hidden from Farsi’s audience in this haunting documentary. Farsi films her calls with Fatma on her own phone. It is truly sad just what one experiences firsthand, and the other witnesses only through the video call. As a viewer, it feels almost as though we are getting a third-hand account of the events it Gaza, but that does not take away any of the emotions we are made to feel, and feel, while watching Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
“Proud” is how Fatma feels in regards to being a Palestinian in Gaza. She shows no fear or sadness. Her goal is to live her life to the fullest, even with all the constraints and entrapment that come her way. As a photojournalist, she strives to take photos of what others may not. In this unique situation, Fatma is not only able to present her story to the world - a firsthand account of living in Gaza - but her photos are shown as well. Both Fatma and Farsi are strong women who both have the goal of sharing a story that otherwise would not be told. In their own ways, they are selfless and care more about the situation as a whole than their individual circumstances.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is truly impactful, horrifying, and heart-wrenching. As a documentary following this subject, one always hopes for the best in the end. Yet we all know that with war, nothing is ever that easy. Rarely do the good ever win. Just as Farsi gets closer to Fatma through their video calls, so does the audience. We get to know both women, Fatma more so, and develop a connection with them.
We cannot expect Fatma to remain so positive as she does, given her circumstances. Yet, to our surprise and grace, she faces each day just so. Telling Farsi about how she believes everything happens for a reason changes how the audience sees her. With each action she makes over the months of their talking, Fatma continues to gain empathy and compassion from the audience. Though she does her best to keep her hopes up, there are things, such as the loss of loved ones, that even bring her to tears.
Farsi could have chosen to hide specific moments she witnessed from the audience, but the documentary remains consistent in showing each call, no matter what occurs. The honesty and eye for truth come through overwhelmingly. As the film’s premiere in Cannes followed by knowledge of what happened to Fatma and her family, the film becomes even more difficult a watch. That being said, however, Fatma’s energy and radiance give the audience hope. As dark and sad as the documentary may be, hope is a strong thing to evoke in one’s audience.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is described as the feeling Fatma has when leaving her home for any reason. You must do this when you go outside, as you never know what fate may befall you.
Originally wanting to be a documentation of the crisis in Gaza, Farsi’s latest documentary turned out to be so much more. Becoming a beautiful tribute to a strong and powerful young woman, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk should be a message to the world.
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