Cannes, France : French actress and jury president Juliette Binoche paid an emotional tribute to 25-year-old Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, just one day after learning that a documentary about her had been selected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, reported the Maktoob Media.
“She should have been here tonight with us,” Binoche said before a crowd of global cinema icons. “In every region of the world, artists are fighting every day and turning resistance into art.”
The documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, directed by Sepideh Farsi, received a long and heartfelt standing ovation. The film is based on over 200 days of video conversations between Farsi and Hassouna, made possible only through remote communication, as Israel has banned foreign media access to Gaza.
Hassouna, a gifted photographer, was killed along with ten members of her family when an Israeli missile struck her home in northern Gaza, just a day after the documentary’s selection was announced. Her father, a taxi driver; her sister, a painter; and her 10-year-old brother were among the victims.
“My heart goes out to her mother, who lost six children, her husband, and her home,” Farsi told AFP. “She lost everything.”
The tribute served as a powerful reminder of the human cost behind the Gaza genocide and the stories that continue to emerge from within the besieged enclave.
