November 19, 2025
FILM: PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK
DIRECTED BY: SEPIDEH FARSI
STARRING: SEPIDEH FARSI, FATIMA HASSOUNA
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The title of this documentary from filmmaker Sepideh Farsi is a quote from Fatima Hassouna who described what it is like to walk outside her home in Gaza. Fatima will spend a year communicating with Farsi via cell phone calls, thus helping to document the destruction of her home town since October 7, 2023. It’s a stunning inside look at how one woman and her family were forced to live after the Israeli attacks on Palestine. It’s also a significant historical record intimately detailing one person’s home life during war time.
Director Sepideh Farsi is originally from Iran. At one point, she was imprisoned but later left her home country to live in Paris. She’s made several documentaries since. This one is especially unique because most of the footage comes from Farsi filming her phone while speaking to Fatima. Their first discussion occurs on April 24th of 2024. Their meetings would occur regularly throughout the following months but they were often a challenge for Fatima due to poor internet connections. Often she would end up at a friend’s house to speak to Farsi who was her one line to the outside world.
The film is not only about the struggles surrounding Fatima but also a portrait of a brave and hopeful young woman. At 24 years-old, Fatima speaks imperfect but above average English with Farsi. Her goal is to document what her city is experiencing. As such, we see dozens of images of the nearby rubble and people walking what’s left of the streets. Many of these shots are stunningly beautiful and artful. Throughout all of it, Fatima maintains a hopeful spirit, dreaming of traveling to amusement parks and seeing other countries like Italy where Farsi spends some of her time. Most noticeable though is her smiling face as she warmly embraces her talks with Farsi. It is pretty amazing to behold. This is a woman who is dealing with a lack of water, food, electricity, bombings, the death of loved ones, and yet still says she is unafraid. One has to live their lives in spite of it all.
Farsi also seems genuinely interested and concerned for Fatima and the safety of her family. She often asks Fatima if she’s thought about leaving Gaza. However, Fatima chooses to remain, saying it is her home, her people, her traditions, and culture. She fully believes that they will be able to rebuild their community.
Farsi includes television news footage which she also records with her phone. The reports detail what is happening during the outside conflict, including negotiations and failed ceasefires. While Fatima doesn’t see any of this it provides viewers with a broader sense of the dire conditions that remain during the year Farsi and Fatima have their conversations. Farsi chooses to not show us the exterior of the settings in which she resides and travels (including Italy, Morocco, France, Egypt, and Canada.) This is a wise move as it keeps both figures on a bit of an equal footing inside their respective settings allowing them to communicate freely with each other. Fatima is essentially imprisoned in her world but displays genuine joy when Farsi mentions some of the places she is visiting. It’s a part of Fatima’s lovely spirit that she can feel good for someone else even when her own circumstances are pretty horrific.
I couldn’t help but think about Anne Frank as I watched this film. She wrote what became perhaps the most significant diary in history as she and her family hid from the Nazi’s during World War II. Farsi has created a 21st Century version of this for Fatima who wanted to document her own journey. She and Fatima fortunately had telephones to talk and record themselves during this present war which also serves as a diary of Fatima’s hopes, dreams, and deep love for her family and culture.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk opens this week in limited theatrical release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.
FILM: PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK
DIRECTED BY: SEPIDEH FARSI
STARRING: SEPIDEH FARSI, FATIMA HASSOUNA
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The title of this documentary from filmmaker Sepideh Farsi is a quote from Fatima Hassouna who described what it is like to walk outside her home in Gaza. Fatima will spend a year communicating with Farsi via cell phone calls, thus helping to document the destruction of her home town since October 7, 2023. It’s a stunning inside look at how one woman and her family were forced to live after the Israeli attacks on Palestine. It’s also a significant historical record intimately detailing one person’s home life during war time.
Director Sepideh Farsi is originally from Iran. At one point, she was imprisoned but later left her home country to live in Paris. She’s made several documentaries since. This one is especially unique because most of the footage comes from Farsi filming her phone while speaking to Fatima. Their first discussion occurs on April 24th of 2024. Their meetings would occur regularly throughout the following months but they were often a challenge for Fatima due to poor internet connections. Often she would end up at a friend’s house to speak to Farsi who was her one line to the outside world.
The film is not only about the struggles surrounding Fatima but also a portrait of a brave and hopeful young woman. At 24 years-old, Fatima speaks imperfect but above average English with Farsi. Her goal is to document what her city is experiencing. As such, we see dozens of images of the nearby rubble and people walking what’s left of the streets. Many of these shots are stunningly beautiful and artful. Throughout all of it, Fatima maintains a hopeful spirit, dreaming of traveling to amusement parks and seeing other countries like Italy where Farsi spends some of her time. Most noticeable though is her smiling face as she warmly embraces her talks with Farsi. It is pretty amazing to behold. This is a woman who is dealing with a lack of water, food, electricity, bombings, the death of loved ones, and yet still says she is unafraid. One has to live their lives in spite of it all.
Farsi also seems genuinely interested and concerned for Fatima and the safety of her family. She often asks Fatima if she’s thought about leaving Gaza. However, Fatima chooses to remain, saying it is her home, her people, her traditions, and culture. She fully believes that they will be able to rebuild their community.
Farsi includes television news footage which she also records with her phone. The reports detail what is happening during the outside conflict, including negotiations and failed ceasefires. While Fatima doesn’t see any of this it provides viewers with a broader sense of the dire conditions that remain during the year Farsi and Fatima have their conversations. Farsi chooses to not show us the exterior of the settings in which she resides and travels (including Italy, Morocco, France, Egypt, and Canada.) This is a wise move as it keeps both figures on a bit of an equal footing inside their respective settings allowing them to communicate freely with each other. Fatima is essentially imprisoned in her world but displays genuine joy when Farsi mentions some of the places she is visiting. It’s a part of Fatima’s lovely spirit that she can feel good for someone else even when her own circumstances are pretty horrific.
I couldn’t help but think about Anne Frank as I watched this film. She wrote what became perhaps the most significant diary in history as she and her family hid from the Nazi’s during World War II. Farsi has created a 21st Century version of this for Fatima who wanted to document her own journey. She and Fatima fortunately had telephones to talk and record themselves during this present war which also serves as a diary of Fatima’s hopes, dreams, and deep love for her family and culture.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk opens this week in limited theatrical release, including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.