The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the film by exiled director Mohammad Rasoulof, winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes 2024, is a social drama that evolves into an extreme cat-and-mouse game at the intersection of state and individual, male and female roles, private and public spheres in an oppressive regime. The head of the family, Iman (Misagh Zare), is an ambitious middle-class lawyer working for the Iranian government. Recently promoted to state investigator, a stepping stone to becoming a revolutionary court judge. As Iman's star rises higher and higher within the regime, his family has been given clear instructions on what is expected of them. His wife (played by actress and activist Soheila Golestani) and teenage daughters (Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami) will have to fall in line if they don't want to get into trouble...
International Competition
Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof was born in 1972 in Shiraz, Iran. He is an independent director, writer and producer who is a sociologist by profession. Rasoulof began his career with documentaries and short films. For his first film, Gagooman (The Twilight, 2002), Rasoulof won the Best Film Award at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. To this date, the director has made five feature films, none of which have been released in Iran. While his films have received wide acclaim outside his country, he remains banned by the Iranian censors. Until 2010, Rasoulof mostly used metaphorical forms of storytelling as a means of expression, but in recent years he has developed a more direct, classical narrative style. In March 2010, Rasoulof was arrested on a film set along with fellow director Jafar Panahi. At the subsequent trial, he was sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to one year and he was later released on bail. Mohammad Rasoulof has won numerous awards at major European festivals, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020 and the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is Germany's official Oscar-entry for 2025.
October 30, 2024 19:45
October 29, 2024 19:00
in farsi
with English and Hungarian subtitles
Cannes Film Festival 2024 (Competition) - Special Jury Prize, FIPRESCI Award
Locarno Film Festival 2024 (Competition)
Sydney Film Festival (Competition) - Audience Award
There Is No Evil (2020)
A Man of Integrity (2017)
Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013)
Goodbye (2011)
Iron Island (2005)
Twilight (2002)
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Cast: Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami, Niusha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghirad, Shiva Ordooie, Amineh Mazrouie Arani
Cinematography: Pooyan Aghababaei
Screenwriter: Mohammad Rasoulof
Producer: Mohammad Rasoulof, Rozita Hendijanian, Olivier Père, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner
Editor: Andrew Bird
Music: Karzan Mahmood
Hungarian Distributor: Cirko Film
Colour: colour
Run time: 168 mins
