Renowned Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig will open the 40th Haifa International Film Festival on October 15, 2024. The film premiered in the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a special award from the jury, as well as the FIPRESCI prize. Deeply critical of the oppressive regime in Iran, the film tells the larger story of a social and political culture through the suspenseful, intimate, story of one family.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Iman, devout and loyal to the regime, receives a long-awaited promotion. His appointment as an investigative judge comes with benefits – a higher salary and a larger apartment for his family, but it also has its darker aspects. Iman is given a handgun, along with instructions to remain anonymous and keep his two daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) off social media. Within the family, there is a widening fissure between Iman and his pious wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) who support the regime, and their two daughters, who follow the protests on social media and support change. The family drama takes place against the backdrop of the massive protests that came in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022. The Seed of the Sacred Fig was filmed secretly in Iran, and the footage smuggled out to editor Andrew Bird in Germany. Scenes of demonstrations included in the film were edited from videos taken on phones during the 2022 protests in Iran.
Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof’s films have garnered international acclaim and awards: Goodbye won the Un Certain Regard Directing Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival; Manuscripts Don’t Burn won the Un Certain Regard FIPRESCI Prize in 2013; A Man of Integrity won Un Certain Regard at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival; There is No Evil won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival. Yet as his films attracted international attention, he also came to the attention of the oppressive regime in Iran. He has been arrested, served prison time, and subjected to a filming ban and travel ban repeatedly because his films have been deemed “collusion” against the regime.
Despite the constant struggle with the extreme Islamic regime that rules Iran, Rasoulof has found ways to continue to make films, and bring them to international screens. When it was announced that his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, had been accepted to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the government attempted to prevent the film’s production and screening. Rasoulof was fined, had his assets confiscated, and was sentenced to 8 years in prison and a flogging. The film’s crew were taken for interrogation and pressured to convince Rasoulof to withdraw his film from the festival. Rasoulof managed to finish the film, and was able, along with a few of the film’s cast and crew, to escape Iran and arrive in Germany. Rasoulof attended the premiere of his film at Cannes, walking the red carpet holding photographs of two lead actors from the film still in Iran: Soheilah Golestani and Misagh Zare, who have been arrested in Iran.
Mahsa Amini
The morality police, in charge of enforcing Islamic law, arrested Mahsa Amini (also known as Jina) on September 13, 2022, for alleged violation of the dress code. She died in custody three days later, and although the official cause of death was heart failure, eyewitnesses report that she was severely beaten. She was 22 years old. Amini’s death inspired a huge wave of protests in Iran, with women removing and burning their hijab, and cutting their hair in protest.
Today, September 16, 2024, marks the second anniversary of Amini’s death. The foundation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi announced on Sunday, that 34 female political prisoners in Evin Prison have gone on a hunger strike to commemorate the second anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini, and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement that arose in the ensuing protests.
Haifa International Film Festival
The Haifa International Film Festival will take place from October 15 – 26, 2024. The Haifa International Film Festival takes place with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports – Israeli Film Council, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Cooperation, and the Haifa Municipality. The festival’s Artistic Director is Yaron Shamir, and it is produced by Ethos – The Haifa Municipality Art, Culture and Sports Association Company. The full program and ticket information will be available on the Haifa Film Festival website: https://www.haifaff.co.il/eng.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Germany/France/Iran/2024/168 min/Persian
Written and Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof; Camera: Pooyan Aghababaei; Editor: Andrew Bird; Music: Karan Mahmood; Cast: Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki
