The Seed of the Sacred Fig

A patriarch in every sense, Iman (Misagh Zare) is an ambitious middle-class lawyer working for the Iranian government. He has just been promoted to state investigator — the stepping stone to becoming a revolutionary court judge — and, alongside an increase in income and social cachet, his family has received clear instructions on what is required of them as Iman’s star rises in the eyes of the state. His wife (played by actress and activist Soheila Golestani) and adolescent daughters (the scene-stealing Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami) must fall in line.

Outside the home, the streets are alight with protests, depicted through real-life footage of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that exploded following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in 2022 while in police custody after being arrested for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab. Soon, Iman understands his role — rubber-stamping death-penalty judgments against activists without giving due process (which, on the ground, has resulted in the deaths of hundreds). As Iman becomes more entrenched in his work, he grows increasingly at odds with his own family. What follows is a social drama turned cat-and-mouse thriller that will have you at the edge of your seat.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig received the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (who wrote Mahnaz Mohammadi’s TIFF ’19 entry, Son-Mother), has fled Iran, where the film was made, after receiving an eight-year prison sentence, including whipping, as his revolutionary art is perceived to represent crimes against the country’s security.

DOROTA LECH

Content advisory: violence