Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof’s award-winning thriller, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”, centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan.
A target of Iran’s hardline conservative government for his films’ criticism of the state, director Mohammad Rasoulof fled his home country to avoid an eight-year prison sentence, though he hadn’t finished editing his latest film yet. A searing drama, the film would go on to win a Special Prize from the jury and three other awards at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film is every bit as urgent and gripping as its real-life backstory would portend – it is not to be missed.
