Skip to main content
The Seed of the Sacred Fig film image; woman stands with two women behind her

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Special Presentations

This event has passed

Misagh Zare is Iman, a newly promoted “investigator” for the Iranian government in the early days of the Women, Life, Freedom rebellion. Iman’s handgun goes missing, and it could only have been taken by one of his family members. His wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) proclaims innocence, as do his daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki). As the strife in the streets ratchets up, so do Iman’s anger and paranoia. With every passing moment, the women in his life grow more afraid—and yet none of them will confess…

The latest from Mohammad Rasoulof (There Is No Evil; A Man of Integrity) is a gripping metaphorical drama that triumphs on multiple levels: as a mystery, it’s tense and absorbing; as a portrait of family division, it’s moving; and as an act of political protest, it’s urgent and powerful. A subversive to his core, Rasoulof has paid a price for his art: sentenced to eight years in prison plus flogging, he now lives as an exile in Europe.

 

Special Prize, Cannes 2024; FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes 2024

Director
Cast

Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghi

Credits
Country of Origin

Iran/France/Germany

Year

2024

Language

In Farsi with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
167 min
Award Winners Drama Human Rights & Social Justice Legendary Filmmakers
Run Way Pictures

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Producer

Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner, Rozita Hendijanian

Screenwriter

Mohammad Rasoulof

Cinematography

Pooyan Aghababaei

Editor

Andrew Bird

Production Design

Amir Panahifar

Original Music

Karzan Mahmood

Mohammad Rasoulof headshot; The Seed of the Sacred Fig director

Mohammad Rasoulof

Mohammad Rasoulof is an Iranian filmmaker known for his politically charged and socially poignant films. His notable works include Goodbye (2011), which won the directing prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, and There Is No Evil (2020), which received the Golden Bear at the Berlinale.

Filmography: The Twilight (2002); Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013); A Man of Integrity (2017); There Is No Evil (2020)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

The Last One for the Road

Dir. Francesco Sossai
100 min

Two middle-aged drunkards drive across the Veneto region on a freewheeling bender, taking a young college student along for the ride. A celebration of the spirit of drink and the kinds of stories told around a table of old friends and too much wine.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Art of Adventure

Dir. Alison Reid
90 min

The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Blue Heron

Dir. Sophy Romvari
90 min

In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her Hungarian immigrant family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island. Their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly dangerous behaviour from Jeremy, the family’s oldest child.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Holy Days

Dir. Nat Boltt
95 min

After his mom passes, Brian (Elijah Tamati) is comforted by Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare (Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver, respectively). The quirky quartet hit the road to save their convent from being sold to a property developer.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Grapes of Wrath

Dir. John Ford
189 min

In this Film Studies workshop, Devan Scott explores the purposes of three-point lighting and the influence of German Expressionism on Hollywood studio filmmaking. Followed by a screening of The Grapes of Wrath, photographed by Gregg Toland.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

How Deep Is Your Love

Dir. Eleanor Mortimer
100 min

Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre