The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Mohammad Rasoulof's clandestine film captures the real-life fury and civil unrest in (and outside) Iran following the death of citizen Mahsa Amini.

Public servant Iman (Missagh Zareh) has received a promotion.

Having secretly worked for much of his life in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Court system, which investigates and prosecutes crimes against the regime, Iman and his wife decide their two daughters are now old enough to learn about his new position. They both reinforce their need to keep Iman’s profession a secret and conduct themselves above reproach.

Iman’s news coincides with unprecedented protests across Tehran following the death of a young woman by morality police. Soon the escalating tensions on the streets make their way into the family’s household.

Curator’s Note

Shot in secret and without approval from authorities, this Oscar-nominated film is Mohammad Rasoulof’s bravest to date. When it was selected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Rasoulof and the film’s crew were interrogated by officials and prohibited from leaving Iran. He was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison, which he avoided by fleeing the country in an arduous 28-day journey.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig is both an incendiary act of resistance and an articulate encapsulation of the Iranian zeitgeist that will unfairly never screen in the country where it’s set.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)