Cert TBC
June 12th 2025
Winner – Jury Special Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2024
Winner – Fipresci Award, Cannes Film Festival
Director: Mohammed Rasoulof
Cast: Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi
Country: Iran Persian (English subtitles) 168 mins
UK release date: TBC
The Seed of the Sacred Fig had a dramatic premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with the director, Mohammed Rasoulof, having just escaped from an eight-year prison sentence in Iran for the making of this film. The film wrenchingly pits an investigating judge and his wife against their two dissenting daughters who are appalled by the brutal crackdowns on protesters. The fictional narrative is interspaced with real images of protests that were violently suppressed by the Iranian authorities.
“The film itself is a mesmerizingly gripping and controlled parable thriller in which the paranoia, misogyny and rage of the Iranian state are mapped seamlessly onto an ordinary family unit.” Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a mighty tribute to the filmmaker’s many countrywomen who continue to risk all in the fight for their lives.” Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
Film Club at the Roxy 