Knife

This documentary from Alex Gibney chronicles author Salman Rushdie’s physical and emotional recovery following the 2022 attack on his life, when he was brutally stabbed by a knife-wielding assailant 33 years after the Ayatollah Khomeini declared a fatwa and placed a price on his head. In hospital immediately after the attack, Rushdhie decides that he would like his experience documented. As a result, Knife is highly intimate and includes footage shot by his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, as she films his healing process and return to daily life. Based on Rushdie’s 2024 memoir, the film includes the historical reaction to The Satanic Verses, counterpoised with his intellectual and emotional response to the attack on his life. The result is a stirring meditation on the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love, as well as a resounding call for us all to fight for freedom of expression.