The Seed of the Sacred Fig

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

NOW PLAYING!

Oscar Nominated for Best International Feature!

Winner ~ Cannes ~ Special Jury Prize

An investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife and their two daughters, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step, social norms and the rules of family life are being suspended.

The filming of The Seed of the Sacred Fig took place in secret and lasted about 70 days, from the end of December 2023 to March 2024. Rasoulof himself described it as "difficult". He could only film for a few days at a time and then had to take breaks.  The director stated that he was in the middle of filming when he learned of his renewed prison sentence. Rasoulof was counting on the appeal process to take a long time to review his case. In addition, this period in spring coincided with the Nowruz (New Year) celebrations in Iran, which lasted two weeks. In fact, Rasoulof managed to finish his film by the end of the holidays. After the appeals court confirmed the verdict, he was forced to decide within a two-hour window whether to remain in Iran and surrender to arrest or to flee. He left all his electronic devices at home and fled to a safe place before crossing the Iranian border on foot.

The footage was smuggled out of Iran to Hamburg, where it was edited by Andrew Bird, who Rasoulof had previously worked with. Post-production took place in Germany. Between the film's fictional scenes, Bird added real images of the political protests following the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran on 16 September 2022. The final 168-minute version shows real and graphic internet videos of the demonstrations and the subsequent violent crackdown by authorities.

Interview with director Director Mohammad Rasoulof