According to multiple media reports, Palestinian photojournalist and artist Fatma Hassouna was killed in an Israeli Airstrike near her home in Gaza City, along with, allegedly, 9 members of her family. Hassouna’s work in photojournalism highlighted the Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza, from which she earned international recognition.
She is the center of the documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, which, only 24 hours prior, was announced to be premiering at ACID, the independent sidebar that runs parallel to the Cannes International Film Festival dedicated to independent films from around the globe. The documentary explores the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, all through video conversations between Hassouna and the film’s director, Sepideh Farsi.
In an Instagram post, members of the ACID spoke about Hassouna and her work on the film in light of her death.: “Her smile was as magical as her tenacity: Bearing witness, photographing Gaza, distributing food despite bombs, grief, and hunger,” ACID says Hassouna in the post. “We had viewed and programmed a film in which this young woman’s life force was nothing short of miraculous,” they also say in the post. “This is a different film than the one we will carry, support, and present in every theater, starting with Cannes. All of us, filmmakers and spectators, must be worthy of her light”, “her” referring to Hassouna.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk will still premiere as a selection at ACID, which will run parallel to the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival in May.
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