The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison and a flogging just prior to fleeing Iran, and his spellbinding and powerful film has at its centre a once tight-knit family devastated by political turmoil. Iman is an investigator in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran; his responsibilities include prosecuting young political protestors. As the nationwide protests intensify, Iman’s family becomes embroiled in the events. When Iman’s work-issued gun disappears, he suspects the involvement of his wife and daughters, and his paranoia leads him to enforce increasingly stringent constraints on his family. As the repression levels rise, the women fight back, leading to an explosive clash. Daringly including real-life footage of the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 – and of the regime’s subsequent brutal and lethal crackdown – The Seed of the Sacred Fig is an urgent and devastating film, and a bold tribute to those who have and continue to resist.