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 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 VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Parsley Days

Dir. Andrea Dorfman
76 min

Kate is ambivalent about her relationship with Ollie. While he's undeniably a great guy, she's curious about what else the world might hold. But when she discovers she's pregnant, breaking up becomes a little more complicated. A magical realist delight!

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Outrageous!
Outrageous! film image; two people in a dressing room

Outrageous!

Dir. Richard Benner
96 min

Two misfits find love and support in this cult classic and landmark for Canadian queer cinema. Determined to retain her freedom after being treated for schizophrenia, Liza grows equally committed to seeing Robin realize his potential as a drag performer.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Look Out for Hope + Bill Frisell: A Portrait

189 min

Look Out For Hope celebrates the unique guitar sound of Bill Frisell who has been inspiring audiences and musicians all over the world since the 1980s. After their set, enjoy Emma Franz's 2017 film about Frisell.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Dead Lover

Dir. Grace Glowicki
83 min

A foul-smelling gravedigger's romance ends in tragedy, spurring her to attempt a resurrection through a madcap series of science experiments. Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie’s film is a zany DIY horror that zaps fresh life into Mary Shelley's classic.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Sansho the Bailiff

Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
124 min

The third of the great Japanese masters (with Ozu and Kurosawa), Mizoguchi is a poet of suffering. There's plenty of that here in his exquisite telling of an ancient folktale about the enslavement of a woman and her two children.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema