The Gaza-set documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, a collaborative project between Iranian-French filmmaker Sepideh Farsi and young Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona has received warm response from global audiences and secured a wave of international distribution deals.
Premiering in the ACID sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film unfolds through intimate video calls between Farsi and Hassona, offering a raw, unfiltered glimpse into daily life under siege in Gaza. Just one day after the Cannes selection was announced, tragedy struck: Hassona was killed in an Israeli missile strike on her home.
Since its premiere, the documentary has been picked up by a broad range of distributors. Deals include Front Row Entertainment (Middle East), Imagine Film Distribution (Benelux), Dogwoof (UK, Ireland), Filmin (Spain), Wanted (Italy), Midas Filmes (Portugal), One From the Heart (Greece, Cyprus), United People Corporation (Japan), Hi Gloss Entertainment (Australia, New Zealand), Bir Film (Turkey), Falcon (Indonesia), and Against Gravity (Poland). In France, it will be released by New Story this September. Sales outfit Cercamon confirmed it is also in advanced talks for rights in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan.
According to Variety exclusive report, Sebastien Chesneau of Cercamon, who is handling worldwide sales, said the team felt the film’s emotional weight from the very first Cannes screening. “Fatma Hassona’s presence is unforgettable, and her story resonates far beyond borders,” he noted. “We’re honored to help carry her voice forward,” said Chesneau.
The sentiments were similar across distributors worldwide.
In Japan, where media coverage of Gaza is sparse, Kenji Sekine of United People said he hoped the release could help shine a light on the 21-month-long crisis, reported Variety. In Australia, Simon Killen of Hi Gloss described meeting Fatma through the film as unforgettable. “We left the screening with the conviction that this film needed to be shared with as many people as possible,” echoed Joan Aguilar of Imagine Film Distribution.
Several distributors aligned the film with broader political and editorial commitments. “After ‘No Other Land,’ this is another bold and necessary film,” said Anastasia Plazzotta of Italy’s Wanted. “It’s our duty to show her life, her hopes and dreams.” Greek distributor One From the Heart echoed the sentiment, calling the documentary “a necessary film, a document of a life that is worth knowing everywhere.”
Portuguese partners Marta Fernandes and Pedro Borges of Midas Filmes said the film comes at a time when “our world is witnessing a genocide being perpetrated in Gaza.” They expressed hope it would contribute to peace and serve as a tribute to Fatma’s legacy. As the film continues its international rollout, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk stands not only as a record of life under siege, but also as a stirring reminder of a young woman whose voice, now silenced, continues to resonate through every frame.
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