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

Intimate Moments: Short Films by Brendan Prost

Dir. Brendan Prost
120 min

Vignettes of loneliness, desire and fleeting connection, immerse yourself in the short, bittersweet films of Brendan Prost — who will also be filming proceedings for potential inclusion in his self-reflexive doc, The Performance of a Lifetime.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Winter Kept Us Warm

Dir. David Secter
82 min

Often described as the first LGBTQ+ film ever to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, David Secter's lovingly observed portrait of a burgeoning queer romance came at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in the country

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
More info

Sold Out

Last Wedding: Jubilee Screening with Bruce Sweeney
Last Wedding film image; bride and groom looking at each other

Last Wedding: Jubilee Screening with Bruce Sweeney

Dir. Bruce Sweeney
100 min

Named the Best Canadian film of 2001 by the Vancouver and Toronto Film Critics, Bruce Sweeney's third feature took a wry look at contemporary relationships through the experiences of three thirtysomething couples whose relationships are about to implode.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Agatha's Almanac

Dir. Amalie Atkins
86 min

Shot over six years on vibrant 16mm film, Agatha’s Almanac is an artful documentary portrait of filmmaker Amalie Atkin’s octogenarian aunt, who has fashioned herself an endearingly simple and self-sustaining lifestyle on her Manitoba farm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Modern Whore
Modern Whore film image; woman sitting at the foot of a bed

Modern Whore

Dir. Nicole Bazuin
80 min

In director Nicole Bazuin's cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.

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 - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre