At a Glance
- Salman Rushdie details the making of the film Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie at its Sundance premiere.
- The documentary follows the 2022 stabbing that left him with 18 wounds and blindness in his right eye.
- Rushdie and his wife, poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths, emphasize the need to see the event to grasp its impact.
- Why it matters: The film offers a rare visual account of a traumatic moment that shaped a global literary figure.
Salman Rushdie and his wife, poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths, spoke with News Of Los Angeles at the premiere of the documentary Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie on Jan. 25, 2026. The film, directed by Alex Gibney, chronicles the 2022 stabbing that left Rushdie with 18 wounds, blindness in his right eye, and a loss of full use of his right hand. The interview provides insight into why the couple chose to bring the event to the screen.
The Stabbing Incident
The attack occurred on June 27, 2022 during a literary festival in Chautauqua, N.Y. A gunman stabbed Rushdie onstage, resulting in severe injuries. The incident was the catalyst for two major works:
| Work | Year | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder | 2024 | Salman Rushdie | Memoir detailing the aftermath |
| Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie | 2026 | Alex Gibney (director) | Documentary adaptation |
Rushdie has spoken publicly about the event, stating he does not view himself as a symbol despite the international attention. In a Jan. 16, 2026 profile with The Hollywood Reporter, he explained that the world’s perception of him varies, but to him he remains “just this guy in a room thinking of something to write.”
The Documentary’s Vision
The film aims to convey the visceral reality of the attack. Rushdie said:
> “I just think there are some things that you have to see for it to affect you visually. There’s stuff in this movie that is hardcore. I think it’s not easy to watch, but however good a writer you are, you can’t have that impact on the page because to see the effect of a terrorist attack, you have to see it. That’s one of the things we thought: let’s show people what this is like.”
Griffiths, who served as a cinematographer for the documentary, added:
> “For me, it was kind of letting go of the material. You want to kind of hold all of it tightly because we’ve both been so private, but then there was no way we could be private anymore. So with the documentary, meeting Alex felt like a good signal to us to put the story out and trust his vision. And so I think we made the right decision.”
The film features footage shot in Rushdie’s hospital room after the attack, providing an intimate look at his recovery process.
The Sundance Premiere
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival ran from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1, 2026 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. This edition was the last to be held in Utah before the festival’s move to Boulder, Colo. in 2027, and the first after the passing of its founder, Robert Redford.
Rushdie and Griffiths attended the premiere in Park City on Jan. 25. They expressed pride in the final product and curiosity about audience reception:
> “I think certainly we are proud of it and we are very interested to see what people make of it,” Rushdie added.
The documentary’s release follows Griffiths’s own memoir, The Flower Bearers (2026), where she recounts the attack and its aftermath.
Contextualizing the Legacy
Rushdie’s career has been marked by controversy, most notably after the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988, which some deemed blasphemous. The Iranian fatwa against him led to a decade of hiding. The 2022 stabbing further intensified global scrutiny, yet Rushdie maintains a focus on his writing.
The documentary offers a new medium to process and share the trauma. By visualizing the attack, the filmmakers hope to provide a deeper understanding than written accounts alone can achieve.
Key Takeaways
- Salman Rushdie and Rachel Eliza Griffiths used the documentary to portray a personal tragedy.
- The film’s release at Sundance marks a significant moment in Rushdie’s public narrative.
- The 2022 stabbing remains a pivotal event that shaped Rushdie’s subsequent works and public perception.
- The Sundance Festival’s 2026 run was a transitional period before moving to Boulder in 2027.
- The documentary invites viewers to witness the impact of terrorism beyond words.
