# Rushdie's Hospital Scars Documented in New Film

> Alex Gibney's Sundance film shows Salman Rushdie's wounds after 2022 attack.
- Title: Rushdie's Hospital Scars Documented in New Film · Variety
- Summary: Alex Gibney's Sundance film shows Salman Rushdie's wounds after 2022 attack. Alex Gibney's documentary reveals Salman Rushdie's hospital injuries following…
- Keywords: salman rushdie, alex gibney, sundance film festival, literary festival, harrowing hospitalization, stabbing attempt, entertainment, culture, Rushdie's, Hospital, Scars, Documented
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/knife-the-attempted-murder-of-salman-rushdie-review-1236867255
- Author: Beatrice Loayza
- Published: 2026-09-18T21:01:04+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: salman rushdie, alex gibney, sundance film festival, literary festival, harrowing hospitalization, stabbing attempt, entertainment, culture
## Rushdie's Hospital Wounds
Rushdie shows his scars after being repeatedly stabbed at a literary festival in upstate New York on August 12, 2022.

> Rushdie, with the help of his wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths, bares his scars in the days and weeks after being violently attacked
## Documentary Focus
The film features closeups of Rushdie's mangled hand and the train-track of stitches running up his belly.

> There's nothing more distressing in "Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie" than the unflinching closeups of the author's wounded body
## Wife's Role
Rachel Eliza Griffiths filmed Rushdie's hospital injuries for the documentary.

> the camera lingers over his mangled hand and the train-track of stitches running up his belly
## Sundance Premiere
The documentary premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

> Alex Gibney's documentary, which premiered at sundance
## Documentary Style
Gibney's work is known for comprehensive, reporter-style investigations of power and politics.

> It's a visceral complement to what is otherwise a solid, if standard, profile of the author from gibney
## Key takeaway

Alex Gibney's documentary reveals Salman Rushdie's hospital injuries following his August 2022 stabbing attempt.