Virginia Film Festival

Official Oscar^© Selection—Germany

The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a gripping social drama turned cat-and-mouse thriller from noted Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, a vocal critic of Iran’s hardline conservative government who recently fled the country to avoid an eight-year prison sentence. The film follows Iman (Misagh Zare), an ambitious Iranian lawyer who has recently been promoted to state investigator.

As protests erupt in the streets following the death of Mahsa Amini, Iman is tasked with rubber-stamping death sentences for activists, aligning himself with the oppressive regime. As he becomes more entrenched in his work, his relationship with his wife (Soheila Golestani) and daughters (Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami) begins to fracture. The film features real-life footage of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, capturing the tension between duty to the state and loyalty to family.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which earned the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, offers a powerful portrayal of resistance and the cost of complicity.

Discussion with Director Mohammad Rasoulof (joining virtually) and NEON Founder and CEO Tom Quinn.

Part of the 2024 tribute to NEON, presented alongside VAFF’s Impresario Award for the distributor’s contribution to cinema.

“A thriller of propulsive skill and blunt emotional force,
marrying the muscularity of an action film to the psychological intensity of a chamber drama.”
-Justin Chang, New Yorker

This film is part of the Middle Eastern and South Asian Cinema Series presented by UVA Arts Council and supported by Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures.