Cannes: The Cannes Film Festival opened with a heavy heart this year as the tragic story of Fatima Hassouna, a 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist killed in Gaza, reverberated through the prestigious event. Filmmaker Sepideh Farsi had documented Hassouna’s life in her latest project, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, created through video calls due to Israel's ban on foreign media entering Gaza. Just one day after learning her story would premiere at Cannes, Hassouna and 10 of her family members were killed by an Israeli missile strike on their home in northern Gaza.
Farsi, still reeling from the loss, said, “Why would you kill someone and decimate an entire family just because she was taking photos?” The film’s subject—a young photographer from a normal family, with a taxi driver father and a painter sister—was reduced to a casualty in a war zone, reflecting the broader human toll of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
Israeli authorities claimed the target was Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by the U.S., EU, and several other countries. However, Farsi insists there were no militants in Hassouna’s home—only civilians. "Her little brother was 10 years old,” she added, emphasizing the brutal cost of the attack.
With more than 200 journalists reportedly killed in Gaza since the conflict escalated in October 2023, according to Reporters Without Borders, Hassouna’s death has become emblematic of the dangers faced by media workers in war zones. Cannes paid tribute to her life and work, with jury head Juliette Binoche honoring Hassouna during the opening night ceremony. Prominent figures like Ralph Fiennes and Richard Gere also condemned the international silence surrounding what they described as a genocide in Gaza.
The festival has become a stage for political expression this year—actors have donned Palestinian flags and yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages, while exiled Palestinian directors Arab and Tarzan Nasser prepare to screen Once Upon a Time in Gaza, further spotlighting the humanitarian crisis.
Farsi’s voice cracked as she recalled believing until the end that Hassouna would survive. “But reality caught up with us,” she said. Her film now stands not just as a documentary but a posthumous tribute to a brave young woman who risked everything to show the world what was happening in her homeland.
