The Seed of the Sacred Fig, made by Mohammad Rasoulof, has found his way to the competition section of Cannes Film Festival. According to the Screen Daily, the narrative revolves around Iman, an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, facing increasing distrust and paranoia amid escalating political protests nationwide, compounded by the mysterious disappearance of his gun. He suspects his wife Najmeh and daughters Rezvan and Sana, leading him to implement stringent measures at home, heightening tensions and eroding social norms and familial dynamics step by step.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is the second film by Mohammad Rasoulof, which is distributed worldwide by the German/French film boutique company, which is also one of the producers and holds the global sales rights. On the occasion of the acceptance of the film we are taking a brief look at Rasoulof cinematic position in France.
Reminder: Regarding Iranian filmmakers’ presence in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, which is the most prestigious on a global scale, it should be noted that Abbas Kiarostami first made his way to this section with Through the Olive Trees in 1994, and three years later with Taste of cherry, he shared the Golden Palm with Unagi made by Imamura.
Following him, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Nasser Taghvai, Abolfazl Jalili with their three-episode film Tales of Kish in 1999, Samira Makhmalbaf with Blackboards in 2000, Mohsen Makhmalbaf with Kandahar in 2001, Marjane Satrapi with Persepolis in 2007, Asghar Farhadi with Le passe in 2013, Jafar Panahi with Three faces 2018, Ali Abbasi with Holly spider in 2022, and Saeed Roustayi with Leila’s brother in 2022, had their first appearances in the Cannes competition.
As it has been mentioned numerous times, participating in this festival not only enhances a film’s visibility among international media but also plays a significant role in its distribution and box office success, which is not even comparable to any other festival.
Regarding Mohammad Rasoulof:
He was first accepted with his film Iron Island in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2005, which was screened in movie theaters under the title Life on a String (I could not find this title anywhere online. Neither in Persian or English) from October 5 of the same year. This film showed the talents of an intelligent filmmaker who on the one hand understands the language of cinema and on the other hand, understands the importance of social concerns. He had a special focus on human relationships and societal issues. This approach continued in his later works and gradually took a critical form. In his films, he criticizes the power structure and the culture imposed by the power with a searching look and a bold tone.
In this film, a small community of homeless men, women, and children from the southern coasts of Iran are stranded on an old cargo ship in the open sea, with nowhere to go and no place to stay on land. Everything is controlled by the ship’s captain, Na’emat. The owner of this worn-out ship tries to persuade the authorities to let the people back to the shore, and without informing the ship’s inhabitants, he is selling the different parts of the ship which is soon to be sunk. Although the film was not shown in Iran, it premiered in France on October 4th, 2005, attracting 16,021 audience in its first week.
After the protests and clashes during the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi, who were in the process of making a film, were arrested. They were banned from filmmaking for a while by an Iranian court, but they didn’t remain idle. Rasoulof made the film Goodbye and somehow sent it to France. This film found its way into the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, received encouragement, and won the Best Director award in that section. The film is about the life of a female lawyer who fights for women’s rights but faces anticipated challenges.
The cold atmosphere, sedentary characters, dark lighting, and dark colors of the scenes create a closed environment around the lawyer who eventually tries to leave the country. One of the most effective scenes is when suddenly two agents corner her in the elevator and start questioning her! The film’s structure sometimes reminds viewers of some Eastern European films of the 1970s/1980s. This film premiered on September 7th, 2011, attracting 42,591 audience.
In 2013, his handwritten notes were accepted again in a certain section, attracting more attention to this director. He directly made his most political film about the serial killings of intellectuals and writers. This work won the FIPRESCI Prize – International Critics’ Prize. No information was found about its premiere in France.
In 2016 his film, Manuscripts Don’t Burn was accepted by Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival again and drew more attention to the filmmaker. He made his most direct and political film about serial murders of intellectuals and writers. This film won the Fipresci Award – International Critics Award. No information was found regarding the theater screening of this film in France.
A man of integrity was ready to get to Cannes in 2016 and eventually in 2017, with a slightly different montage, it found its way into Un Certain Regard again. This film is in line with other works of this bold director. The main character, Reza, moves with his family to a region in Gilan province to have a quiet life and escape the problems he has faced in the capital. However, he still encounters problems and the filmmaker criticizes a chain of corrupt local relationships in that area. Although Reza wants to fight these issues without succumbing to corruption, he ultimately has to comply. The film premiered in theaters in France on December 6th, 2017, with extensive advertising, attracting 24,800 audience in its first week and ultimately 122,344 viewers in France.
Rasoulof, who doesn’t see it necessary to submit his screenplays for approval to obtain a screening license, since his films are not shown in Iran anyway, continues his filmmaking style.
After finishing his next film There is No Evil, it seems that he had no interest in sending it to the Cannes Film Festival, as his films had already participated in Un Certain Regard enough. Therefore, he submits it to the Berlinale 2020, where it finds its way into the main competition section and eventually wins the Golden Bear of the festival.
This film, with four episodes about the “Awakened conscience” of people who have the responsibility of hanging convicts, has scrutinized this issue very smartly and has attracted more attention. Some of these characters consider it a profession, while others suffer from a guilty conscience.
There is No Evil premiered in France on December 1st, 2021, and managed to attract a 95,000 audience.
Up to now, Rasoulof’s best-selling film in France has been A Man of integrity with 122,344 audiences.
- Most of the content in this writing is taken from the book “Secrets and Lies at Cannes” and “44 Years of Iran’s Presence in France”, published by Nakjaa Publishing in Paris in January 2024. This book is 390 pages long.
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