The acceptance of international cinema has been on the rise in recent years, as movies like RRR, Anatomy of a Fall and Parasite have become popular not just with critics and awards bodies, but with a wider swath of general audiences as well. That trend looks to continue in 2024, with one new movie that may grab people’s attention, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, a thriller from Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof.
Though Rasoulof is Iranian and the movie's plot takes place in Iran, The Seed of the Sacred Fig has actually been selected as Germany's official entrant for the 2025 Oscars Best International Film category. That is allowed because the German film company Moin Films was a co-producer on the movie, and Germany is where Rasoulof has lived since he left Iran because he was facing prison time for the subject matter of his films, including The Seed of the Sacred Fig, as well as criticisms he has made toward the Iranian government.
Find out everything you need to know about The Seed of the Sacred Fig, from when it's releasing to some marquee awards it has already won, right here.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig release date
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is now playing only in Los Angeles movie theaters; at this time we don't have any information on if/when the movie is going to be shown in additional US markets.
UK cinemas are currently slated to get The Seed of the Sacred Fig on January 24, 2025.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig cast
Unless you are a regular viewer of Iranian cinema, you might not recognize the members of The Seed of the Sacred Fig cast. Nonetheless, the movie features Misagh Zare as Iman, Soheila Golestani as Najmeh, Mahsa Rostami as Rezvan, Setareh Maleki as Sana, Niousha Akhshi as Sadaf, Reza Akhlaghi as Ghaderi and Shiva Ordooei as Fatemeh. Amineh Arani also appears in the movie.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig plot
In addition to directing, Rasoulof also wrote the script for The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Here is the official synopsis from distributor NEON:
"Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof's award-winning thriller, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan."
The Seed of the Sacred Fig trailer
Watch the trailer for The Seed of the Sacred Fig right here:
The Seed of the Sacred Fig reviews
Having screened at a number of major film festivals, reviews for The Seed of the Sacred Fig have been made available already, with the broad scope of critics giving the movie high marks. The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes has the movie scored as "Certified Fresh" at 94% as of December 2.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig awards
Here is a round up of the major awards that The Seed of the Sacred Fig has been nominated for and ones that it has won to date:
Golden Globes
- Best Motion Picture Non-English Language (nominee)
Cannes Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize
- FIPRESCI Award (given for the movie's "courageous story set in modern-day Iran that deals with the conflict between tradition and progress, depicted in a very powerful and imaginative way")
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
- Best Foreign Language Film (runner-up)
National Board of Review
- Best International Film (winner)
Mohammad Rasoulof movies
Mohammad Rasoulof is an award-winning filmmaker, with many of his movies receiving major citations from international film festivals, particularly There Is No Evil, A Man of Integrity and now The Seed of the Sacred Fig. However, despite the acclaim, Rasoulof became a controversial figure in his home country of Iran because of his movies' themes and his personal statements about the Iranian government's policies and actions toward protesters. In May of 2024, he fled Iran as he was facing a prison sentence because of this. He discussed his decision to leave Iran in a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival:
"I have many more stories to tell, many more narratives to create and films to make," said Rasoulof. "That's what persuaded me to leave Iran. I had to go on with this mission. I feel that my mission is to connect the audiences of the world to these stories, to this Iranian narrative. This is my plan for the coming years."
Here's a look at the movies that Rasoulof has already made in his career:
- The Twilight (2002)
- Iron Island (2005)
- Head Wind (2008)
- The White Meadows (2009)
- Goodbye (2011)
- Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013)
- A Man on Integrity (2017)
- There Is No Evil (2020)
- Jenayat-e amdi (2022)
