Welcome
Germany's Oscar Entry: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, © Pooyan Aghababaei, Mohammad Rasoulof
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG is the German entry for the Oscars® 2025. The feature film by Mohammad Rasoulof will represent Germany at the 97th Academy Awards® in the category for “Best International Feature Film”.
Misagh Zare is Iman, a newly promoted “investigator” for the Iranian government in the early days of the Women, Life, Freedom rebellion. Iman’s handgun goes missing, and it could only have been taken by one of his family members. His wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) proclaims innocence, as do his daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki). As the strife in the streets ratchets up, so do Iman’s anger and paranoia. With every passing moment, the women in his life grow more afraid—and yet none of them will confess…
Director Mohammad Rasoulof was originally scheduled to participate in the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a jury member for the Un Certain Regard section. However, he was arrested in July 2022 after criticizing the government's crackdown on protestors in the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan, following a deadly building collapse. On May 8, 2024, Rasoulof's lawyer announced that he had been sentenced to eight years in prison, as well as flogging, a fine, and the confiscation of his property. On May 12, 2024, Rasoulof revealed that he had managed to flee Iran and was staying at an undisclosed location in Europe. On May 24, 2024, Rasoulof attended the film’s premiere at Cannes, where he held up photos of two of the film’s actors, Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh, on the red carpet.
🏆 Special Prize, Cannes 2024; FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes 2024
Country of Origin: Iran/France/Germany
Language: In Farsi with English subtitles