portraits
Portrait
Cinema

Mohammad Rasoulof, director of "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

It is intolerable that a regime can impose such repression on artists simply because they exercised their freedom of expression.

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been fighting against his country’s regime for many years, much like Jafar Panahi, through films that bear witness to his resistance. Repeatedly sentenced, he finally went into exile last May while his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, was being presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Recipient of the Special Jury Prize for this film, supported by the Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, Rasoulof offers a powerful tribute to Iranian women and a poignant plea for freedom.

As The Seed of the Sacred Fig hits French theaters starting Wednesday, September 18, we present a portrait of Mohammad Rasoulof. 

Published on 17/09/2024

2 min

Born in 1972 in Shiraz, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof quickly ventured into writing and directing theater plays. After studying sociology at the university in his hometown, he shifted towards cinema, starting with short films and documentaries. He then pursued training in editing at Sooreh University in Tehran. Early in his career, he worked as an assistant for several directors, including Abbas Kiarostami and Rasoul Sadr Ameli, before directing six short films of his own.

In 2002, Mohammad Rasoulof directed his first feature film, Twilight, followed by The Life on Water three years later. He then ventured into documentary filmmaking with The Parable, which explores the system Iranians devised to access banned foreign television channels. In 2010, Rasoulof became a target of the Iranian regime, accused of propaganda against the state. He was arrested alongside filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mehdi Pourmoussa and sentenced to one year in prison. Despite this, he continued to make films, including Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013), A Man of Integrity (2017), and There Is No Evil (2020).

Since his first arrest, Mohammad Rasoulof has been repeatedly targeted by the Iranian regime. Following the release of A Man of Integrity, which won the Un Certain Regard prize, his passport was confiscated, and he was summoned for an interrogation where he was accused of activities against national security and propaganda against the regime. In 2020, when he presented his film There Is No Evil at the Berlinale, he was not allowed to leave the country and was unable to receive the Golden Bear awarded to him. Two years later, he was arrested again alongside Mostafa al-Ahmad after publishing an open letter criticizing the police's conduct during a protest.

Despite it all, Mohammad Rasoulof has always strived to continue making films, resisting censorship and pressure from the Iranian regime. His work explores themes of freedom, the political context of his country, and the denunciation of corruption. These powerful and risky topics in his situation shape a cinema of resilience and resistance that strikes hard and true. With The Seed of the Sacred Fig, his latest film presented at Cannes in 2024, he continues his mission, offering a tribute to Iranian women in the form of a thriller, which earned him the Special Jury Prize. 

A resistant filmmaker, Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to a harsh penalty by the Iranian regime on May 8, 2024. Eight years in prison, five of which are enforceable, were demanded for "collusion against national security." Committed to fighting the repression of artists in Iran, the Cannes Film Festival selected his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, this year. As authorities summoned members of the film's crew for questioning and pressure mounted to cancel its screening, Mohammad Rasoulof made the decision to secretly leave Iran on May 12, 2024, to attend Cannes.

On the red carpet, the director held up two photos of his lead actors, Missagh Zareh and Soheila Golestani, who were unable to leave the country. The film went on to receive a Special Jury Prize, along with the FIPRESCI Prize, the Ecumenical Jury Prize, the AFCAE Prize, and the François-Chalais Prize.

  • 2002

    2002

    Mohammad Rasoulof directed his first feature film, "The Twilight."

  • 2010

    2010

    He was arrested for the first time by the Iranian regime alongside Jafar Panahi.

  • 2020

    2020

    "There Is No Evil" won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale.

  • 2024

    2024

    Now in exile, Mohammad Rasoulof received the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for "The Seed of the Sacred Fig."

The Institut français

The Institut français supported the film The Seed of the Sacred Fig through the Aide aux Cinémas du Monde programme. 

The Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (ACM) is a selective fund co-managed by the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée and the Institut français, dedicated to supporting fiction, animation, or creative documentary feature-length projects intended for theatrical release. The aid can be granted either before or after production (for projects not selected for pre-production support). 

Find out more 

L'institut français, LAB