Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie

The convalescence and recovery of Anglo-Indian writer Salman Rushdie following the attempt on his life, is to be understood both literally but first and foremost spiritually. The film, made using previously unseen footage provided by his wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths, journeys with Rushdie on his way to newfound hope.

COMMENTARY
The film weaves together archival footage, animation sequences and readings from the work to compose an exploration of trauma and memory. By revealing the images of the attack, the director shifts the centre of gravity of the film from the brutality of the act to the processing of the experience: against the blind violence of the blade, the film asserts the power of the spoken word and storytelling as a means to reclaim one’s destiny and reject being defined by the role of victim.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Knife is a story of survival and healing after a terrible attack. But it is also about the inner journey traced by Salman: the passage from hate to love. It is this movement, together with the courage and humanity of his experience, that drove me to tell this story.