'I thought she'd survive': Story of slain Gaza photojournalist touches Cannes
Published: 06:05 AM,May 15,2025 | EDITED : 10:05 AM,May 15,2025
Filmmaker Sepideh Farsi is still in shock after an Israeli air strike killed her documentary's main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, in Gaza last month.
'Why would you kill someone and decimate an entire family just because she was taking photos?' she told AFP ahead of her film's premiere at the Cannes Festival Thursday.
With Israel banning foreign media from entering the besieged Palestinian territory, Farsi reached out to Hassouna through video calls, turning their conversations into 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk'. A day after Hassouna was told it had been selected for a sidebar section at the world's most prestigious film festival, an Israeli missile pummelled into her home in northern Gaza, killing her and 10 relatives.
Israel has claimed it was targeting Hamas. But 'they were normal people. Her father was a taxi driver, she was a photographer, her sister was a painter and her little brother was 10 years old', said Farsi.
'My heart goes out to her mother, who lost six of her children, her husband and her home. She lost everything.'
.As the death toll mounts, with rescuers saying 80 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday alone, the conflict has cast a shadow over Cannes.
Several actors have walked its red carpet wearing Palestinian flags pinned to their jackets, while others have sported a yellow ribbon for Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
'Why would you kill someone and decimate an entire family just because she was taking photos?' she told AFP ahead of her film's premiere at the Cannes Festival Thursday.
With Israel banning foreign media from entering the besieged Palestinian territory, Farsi reached out to Hassouna through video calls, turning their conversations into 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk'. A day after Hassouna was told it had been selected for a sidebar section at the world's most prestigious film festival, an Israeli missile pummelled into her home in northern Gaza, killing her and 10 relatives.
Israel has claimed it was targeting Hamas. But 'they were normal people. Her father was a taxi driver, she was a photographer, her sister was a painter and her little brother was 10 years old', said Farsi.
'My heart goes out to her mother, who lost six of her children, her husband and her home. She lost everything.'
.As the death toll mounts, with rescuers saying 80 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday alone, the conflict has cast a shadow over Cannes.
Several actors have walked its red carpet wearing Palestinian flags pinned to their jackets, while others have sported a yellow ribbon for Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.