Sepide Farsi: The smile of a Fatem from Gaza

Among the films on the program of the penultimate day of the engaged film festival Free Zone, on November 9, is also the documentary "Put your soul in the palm of your hand and walk" by Iranian director Sepida Farsi, which was shown at the last Cannes festival.

Sepide Farsi is a director of engaging films. "Put your soul in the palm of your hand and walk" was made from a video interview with Fata, a photographer from Gaza, who through her lens tried to send a message of hope to the world through social networks. However, just a few weeks before the premiere in Cannes, an Israeli bomb fell on her building.

I wanted to understand.

Sepideh Farsi says she felt an urgent need to respond to "the Israeli response to the attacks by Hamas on October 7, which very quickly led to the current genocide in Gaza. As a human, an activist and a filmmaker, I had to respond personally because it shook me deeply. I went to Cairo with the intention of crossing the border and entering Gaza, but since the borders were closed, I started filming Palestinian refugees who had just arrived from Gaza in Cairo."

Sepida Farsi's initial intention was to make a film "how Palestinians survive the Israeli bombardment, what their daily life looks like. My intention was, first of all, to understand myself, and then to share with others how it is possible to resist under continuous bombardment, in what can rightfully be called genocide."

That need came from personal experience, she was 15 years old when Iraq invaded Iran and started the war. "I also wanted to fill the void I felt in the dominant media narrative where Palestinian voices weren't present, nobody asked them how they felt. That's what I wanted to understand and share with the world."

And then I met Fatem

"I didn't have a precise idea of ​​the form of this film because I didn't know what kind of situation I would find in Cairo. It came from the events that followed. There I met the photographer Fatma Hassana, whom I call Fatem, because that's how she signed her songs. And that changed the form of the film to a great extent. The result is the film you can see today," says Sepide Farsi.

Fatem, the story goes, lived very simply. "She was a happy, cheerful, extremely perceptive young woman. When she could go out, she spent her days photographing, documenting the life of the residents of Gaza under the Israeli occupation and during the genocide. She also engaged in work necessary for survival, like all members of her family: she went to get wood for cooking, to get water to drink. She also helped others: she worked with children who survived trauma, organized workshops and writing, distributed food to those who had less than her. she would cook a meal, then take it to people who had nothing to eat. Fatem also wrote. Our video calls and exchanges became one of her main occupations."

In her photos, says the director, you can see the message of resilience, resistance and identity of a young Palestinian woman. "She wanted the world to see how Palestinians live and resist under Israeli occupation. This is clearly visible in her photographs. When you look at her entire oeuvre, you never see Palestinians in misery, they are always depicted with dignity. Even in front of the ruins of their homes, they look proud and upright. It was deeply present in her being and way of life. I think this is exactly the main message she wanted to convey to the world."

She was getting ready for the Cannes Festival

At the end of the film, Sepida informs Fatem that the film has been invited to Cannes. "She also wanted to come to Khan. She sent me her passport and I immediately submitted it for a visa. I was pretty sure we would get her, because the invitation to Khan is a good reason. The only uncertainty was whether Fatem would be able to pass the Israeli checkpoints. We wanted to try, though. But we never got the chance, because the very next day, April 16, she was killed, as is known, in a targeted operation by the Israeli army."

Photo: Free Zone

Forensics proves that the attack was intentional, says Sepide. "Fatum was killed along with six other members of her family, including her pregnant sister and ten-year-old brother. Her mother was the only survivor of the attack."

Wherever it appears, her film changes the audience's attitude about Israel and the official reasons for the destruction of Gaza. After being seen by audiences at Cannes, the media called it "the movie that made Cannes cry".

"I know that my film changes the perception of the audience. People watch it and write to me all the time, sharing their feelings after the screening. Even people I don't know find my contact on social networks and contact me to say how profoundly they were changed after watching the film. I am proud and grateful that I achieved this thanks to Fatema's smile and her light."

Sepide Farsi says that she is trying to "screen the film in the European Parliament. Some French politicians have also seen it. I am really trying to reach the people who make decisions. It is difficult and I am not sure that these people are capable of a humane reaction, because politicians, unfortunately, are expected to suppress their emotions and react according to protocol. But, I would like them to watch the film and react spontaneously, like ordinary people."

Never again

He believes that it seems to be in human nature not to learn anything from history. After every war, people say "Never again!", but the horrors keep happening again and again.
"I think it stems from the propaganda, the brainwashing that politicians use to incite chauvinism and fear. Under such conditions, people react impulsively, and if they had more prudence and clarity, they would never go to war. It's about creating a world you can live in." sa to others, not against them."
He sees the war between Israel and Palestine as "essentially the colonial occupation of the Palestinian territories, I mean historical Palestine, which has lasted for more than a century. It started with the British, and then in 1918 Balfour made his declaration promising those lands to the Jewish people for the creation of a National Jewish Home. It was a very strange act, because those lands did not belong to Britain. He might as well have given them a part of Europe."

"So the whole problem has colonial origins and if we tried to solve its root, armed conflicts would no longer exist," says Sepide Farsi, director of the documentary "Put your soul in the palm of your hand and walk."