Describing an ordinary day under Israeli occupation in Gaza, Fatma Hassuna says: “Here, every second you go out in the street, you put your soul on your hands and walk.” Iranian-born French director Sepideh Farsi’s yearlong series of online video conversations with Fatma, a young Palestinian photographer, becomes a powerful document of the genocide livestreamed before the eyes of the world. With each online call, we witness firsthand how the 26-year-old woman is breaking down both mentally and physically. At the same time, as one woman who fled her home country Iran years ago in order to survive and another who remains imprisoned in her occupied city share their stories and experiences, a profound bond emerges between the two.

As her relatives, friends, and neighbors are killed one after the other, Fatma struggles to hold on to life. “I want to travel the world, but in the end, I will always return to Gaza. My Gaza, my homeland, needs me,” she says.

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is without a doubt not an easy watch. Apart from the gravity of its theme and the demanding visual style, the fact that Fatma herself was killed in an Israeli airstrike just one month before the film’s premiere in Cannes makes watching this film a tough experience. Yet, this is essential viewing, a documentary that one cannot turn away from.