Writer-director Mohammed Rasolouf’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the dissident Iranian filmmaker’s follow-up to 2020’s Golden Bear-winning There Is No Evil, is another clear-eyed account of the sacrifices and moral compromises forced on ordinary people by his homeland’s oppressive regime. The state’s affinity for capital punishment is again a target of Rasolouf’s ire, but he also has in his sights bourgeois complacency, the tyranny of traditional values, and, above all, the cruel machinations of Iran’s patriarchal culture.
As the film opens, state investigator Iman (Missagh Zareh) and his wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), are tentatively celebrating his recent promotion, but their satisfaction with his hard-earned career advancement proves to be short-lived, as the government’s enforcement of strict hijab laws leads to widespread protests and their subsequent brutal suppression. Iman is forced to approve an ever-mounting number of death penalty orders for arrested youths,...
As the film opens, state investigator Iman (Missagh Zareh) and his wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), are tentatively celebrating his recent promotion, but their satisfaction with his hard-earned career advancement proves to be short-lived, as the government’s enforcement of strict hijab laws leads to widespread protests and their subsequent brutal suppression. Iman is forced to approve an ever-mounting number of death penalty orders for arrested youths,...
- 9/8/2024
- by David Robb
- Slant Magazine
Germany has selected The Seed Of The Sacred Fig by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof as its submission to the 97th Academy Awards.
The film was selected from a 13-strong shortlist and was chosen by a nine-member jury appointed by promotional organisation German Films.
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig premiered in Competition at Cannes in May, winning the special jury prize and Fipresci award, before going on to win the audience award at Sydney in June.
Although set in Tehran with a predominantly Iranian cast and crew, the film is produced by Rasoulof’s German outfit Run Way Pictures alongside...
The film was selected from a 13-strong shortlist and was chosen by a nine-member jury appointed by promotional organisation German Films.
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig premiered in Competition at Cannes in May, winning the special jury prize and Fipresci award, before going on to win the audience award at Sydney in June.
Although set in Tehran with a predominantly Iranian cast and crew, the film is produced by Rasoulof’s German outfit Run Way Pictures alongside...
- 8/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Boys Will Be Boyz
Sky Documentaries has unveiled plans for “Boyzone,” a three-part documentary series that will examine the trials and tribulations of Irish boyband and 1990s pop sensation Boyzone.
“For the first time in 30 years, band members Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael Graham grant rare and exclusive interview access [..] revealing their personal experiences in a band that sold over 25 million records worldwide, the boys also talk candidly about how they grappled with the true cost of global fame,” Sky said. “They confront the strained relationships and tragic events that have had a lasting impact on all their lives, families and friendships.”
“The documentary examines the key events that shaped Boyzone, including the highs and lows of global stardom, the intense tabloid intrusion in 1990’s Britain forcing Stephen Gately to come out, and after a sensational comeback in 2007, a devastating tragedy struck the band, as Gately died.
Sky Documentaries has unveiled plans for “Boyzone,” a three-part documentary series that will examine the trials and tribulations of Irish boyband and 1990s pop sensation Boyzone.
“For the first time in 30 years, band members Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael Graham grant rare and exclusive interview access [..] revealing their personal experiences in a band that sold over 25 million records worldwide, the boys also talk candidly about how they grappled with the true cost of global fame,” Sky said. “They confront the strained relationships and tragic events that have had a lasting impact on all their lives, families and friendships.”
“The documentary examines the key events that shaped Boyzone, including the highs and lows of global stardom, the intense tabloid intrusion in 1990’s Britain forcing Stephen Gately to come out, and after a sensational comeback in 2007, a devastating tragedy struck the band, as Gately died.
- 8/20/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled his native Iran earlier this year, has been named president of the New Currents jury at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival (Biff).
The jury for the competitive New Currents section will also comprise Korean director Lee Myung Se, Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu, Indian actress Kani Kusruti and International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) festival director Vanya Kaludjercic.
The New Currents strand of Biff includes first or second films by emerging Asian filmmakers and the jurors will select two winning features, which will each receive a prize of $30,000.
Whether Rasoulof will make it to the...
The jury for the competitive New Currents section will also comprise Korean director Lee Myung Se, Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu, Indian actress Kani Kusruti and International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) festival director Vanya Kaludjercic.
The New Currents strand of Biff includes first or second films by emerging Asian filmmakers and the jurors will select two winning features, which will each receive a prize of $30,000.
Whether Rasoulof will make it to the...
- 8/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
One of the most anticipated films premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival is The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the latest from acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. His films have show regularly at festivals – Goodbye screened at Cannes 2011, Manuscripts Don't Burn at Cannes 2013, A Man of Integrity at Cannes 2017; his most recent 2020 film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is especially important and potent because it really upset the Iranian government – they sentenced Rasoulof to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property just because he made this film. Part of the big question is why – what does it show and why is the Iranian government so afraid of it? Now we know. This remarkable film is about the current events in Iran, mainly the silencing of many women and...
- 5/25/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The narrative behind Mohammad Rasoulof‘s journey to the Cannes competition (his first) will be talked about for a long time. Escaping his homeland (and an eight-year prison sentence from the country’s authorities for making the film), The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a miracle film. A three-time Un Certain Regard invited filmmaker with two wins for 2011’s Goodbye (won the Directing Prize) and 2017’s A Man of Integrity (won the Un Certain Regard award). Manuscripts Don’t Burn in 2013 was sandwiched by those two. If Rasoulof has a legit chance at winning the Palme, it’ll come directly after winning the Golden Bear at the Berlinale for There Is No Evil (2020).…...
- 5/25/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has a lot going for it on the way to a potential Palme d’Or win: strong reviews, an anguished political call-out against Iranian oppression, and Rasoulof’s own status as an exile who just fled his home country and was finally able to attend Cannes after all. (Read our interview with the director here.)
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
- 5/24/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
For more than two decades, Iman (Misagh Zare) has functioned as a civil servant, doing work that his kids — who represent Iran’s younger generation — would be ashamed of. Better to keep them in the dark. At last, for his loyalty, Iman has been given a promotion, not to judge (the job he wants) but to inspector (a job no one wants). Inspectors are the goons who interrogate students his daughters’ age when they’re arrested for protesting, the ones who sign off on death sentences for alleged dissidents. Iman doesn’t just work for the Iranian regime; he is the regime.
With livid, thinking-person’s thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” director Mohammad Rasoulof responds to his own imprisonment in 2022 by examining Iranian tensions within the context of a well-placed Tehran family. For most of this slow-boiling nearly-three-hour movie, the main character is not Iman but his submissive,...
With livid, thinking-person’s thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” director Mohammad Rasoulof responds to his own imprisonment in 2022 by examining Iranian tensions within the context of a well-placed Tehran family. For most of this slow-boiling nearly-three-hour movie, the main character is not Iman but his submissive,...
- 5/24/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof has arrived. The dissident Iranian director is at the Cannes Film Festival to present his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, in competition, just weeks after he dramatically escaped Iran on foot, fleeing an eight-year prison sentence.
Details of the director’s harrowing escape were made public last week after he was safely away, ensconced in an undisclosed location in Germany. He made the decision to leave, to abandon his homeland and walk across the mountainous borderland after the authorities sentenced him to a lengthy prison term.
His sentence also included a fine, the confiscation of property, and a flogging as punishment for bottles of wine the police discovered during a raid on his apartment.
Rasoulof had been arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail in July 2022 for signing a petition calling on security forces to “Lay Down Your Arms” and exercise restraint in response to street protests.
Details of the director’s harrowing escape were made public last week after he was safely away, ensconced in an undisclosed location in Germany. He made the decision to leave, to abandon his homeland and walk across the mountainous borderland after the authorities sentenced him to a lengthy prison term.
His sentence also included a fine, the confiscation of property, and a flogging as punishment for bottles of wine the police discovered during a raid on his apartment.
Rasoulof had been arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail in July 2022 for signing a petition calling on security forces to “Lay Down Your Arms” and exercise restraint in response to street protests.
- 5/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After a perilous 28-day journey fleeing Iran and setting foot in Germany, Mohammad Rasoulof has finally made it to Cannes, safe for now and cautiously eager for the premiere of his fourth Cannes feature, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” announced by the festival a month ago as a late addition to the Competition.
The last images he takes away from his home — after just having two hours to make the monumental decision whether to be re-incarcerated for a harsh sentence that might still be extended, or to join the constellation of Iranian artists in potentially permanent exile — are the plants and flowers in his apartment, which he worried would have no caretaker. There was also a certain imposing mountain that he can view from his window. It’s there he can see the wall of Evin Prison, where he was last incarcerated in 2022 after speaking out against the government...
The last images he takes away from his home — after just having two hours to make the monumental decision whether to be re-incarcerated for a harsh sentence that might still be extended, or to join the constellation of Iranian artists in potentially permanent exile — are the plants and flowers in his apartment, which he worried would have no caretaker. There was also a certain imposing mountain that he can view from his window. It’s there he can see the wall of Evin Prison, where he was last incarcerated in 2022 after speaking out against the government...
- 5/23/2024
- by Ritesh Mehta
- Indiewire
Dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has revealed he had just a two-hour window to decide whether to remain in Iran and face arrest or flee the country to ensure his freedom.
Speaking to Screen from Cannes, where his latest feature The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is set to world premiere in Competition tomorrow (May 24), the Iranian auteur looked relieved to have secured his own safety but was reflective on the society he had left behind and his own future as a filmmaker.
“I was left with no other option,” said Rasoulof, who was sentenced to eight years in prison and...
Speaking to Screen from Cannes, where his latest feature The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is set to world premiere in Competition tomorrow (May 24), the Iranian auteur looked relieved to have secured his own safety but was reflective on the society he had left behind and his own future as a filmmaker.
“I was left with no other option,” said Rasoulof, who was sentenced to eight years in prison and...
- 5/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mohammad Rasoulof will officially be attending the Cannes premiere of his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” after fleeing Iran, IndieWire can confirm.
The filmmaker has not been to Cannes in years despite several of his features debuting at the festival and even winning top awards there. None of Rasoulof’s work has ever been screened in his home country of Iran due to government bans — including since his Cannes award-winning film “Goodbye” screened in 2011. Rasoulof was later sentenced to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for alleged anti-government propaganda.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the 2023 Cannes jury but was unable to attend due to an Iran travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting social media statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was temporarily released amid serving...
The filmmaker has not been to Cannes in years despite several of his features debuting at the festival and even winning top awards there. None of Rasoulof’s work has ever been screened in his home country of Iran due to government bans — including since his Cannes award-winning film “Goodbye” screened in 2011. Rasoulof was later sentenced to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for alleged anti-government propaganda.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the 2023 Cannes jury but was unable to attend due to an Iran travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting social media statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was temporarily released amid serving...
- 5/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
In a surprising announcement, 51-year-old Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof will attend the premiere of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” on Friday. The movie has one of the final competition slots and, unless it is an absolute dud, is a guarantee for one of the top awards considering the political statement it makes. As a direct result of making the movie, Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison, had his property removed, and was due to receive a flogging. He fled the country on foot and is now somewhere in Europe.
Rasoulof, whose previous work includes “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” “A Man of Integrity,” which won the top prize at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, and “There Is No Evil,” which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. All of his films are critical of contemporary Iranian society, with “There Is No Evil,” about capital punishment,...
Rasoulof, whose previous work includes “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” “A Man of Integrity,” which won the top prize at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, and “There Is No Evil,” which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. All of his films are critical of contemporary Iranian society, with “There Is No Evil,” about capital punishment,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled Iran last week after being given an 8-year prison sentence, will be in Cannes for the world premiere of his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
- 5/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
- 5/22/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival.
The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film. The rights for France were previously taken by Pyramide and for North America by Neon.
Negotiations are underway for the rights in Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Latin America, the Baltics, Denmark, former Yugoslavia, the Indian subcontinent, Poland and Sweden.
It was revealed on Monday that Rasoulof had left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities,...
The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film. The rights for France were previously taken by Pyramide and for North America by Neon.
Negotiations are underway for the rights in Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Latin America, the Baltics, Denmark, former Yugoslavia, the Indian subcontinent, Poland and Sweden.
It was revealed on Monday that Rasoulof had left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Neon has grabbed North American rights to The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the latest film from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.
The thriller is set to debut in competition in Cannes on May 24 and marks Rasoulof’s first return to Cannes after being barred from traveling to serve on last year’s Un Certain Regard jury by Iranian officials. The film stars Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani, and Niousha AkhshiVardoogh. Neon has said it is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig follows Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step,...
The thriller is set to debut in competition in Cannes on May 24 and marks Rasoulof’s first return to Cannes after being barred from traveling to serve on last year’s Un Certain Regard jury by Iranian officials. The film stars Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani, and Niousha AkhshiVardoogh. Neon has said it is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig follows Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has secured North American rights from Films Boutique to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, ahead of its world premiere in Competition at Cannes on May 24.
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mohammad Rasoulof Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival
Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has confirmed that he has escaped from Iran and is currently in an undisclosed location in Europe.
The news comes just days after the There Is No Evil director was sentenced to eight years in jail, flogging and the confiscation of his property in his homeland for "collusion against national security".
Writing on Instagram, the director outlined repression he and his filmmaking collaborators had faced in Iran and said: "With a heavy heart, I chose exile."
The director's latest film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig will screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and his departure from Iran raises the possibility that he may be present at its world premiere. The 52-year-old has been banned from leaving the country since 2017 and was previously jailed there, from July 22 to last February. Although he was released in a general amnesty,...
Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has confirmed that he has escaped from Iran and is currently in an undisclosed location in Europe.
The news comes just days after the There Is No Evil director was sentenced to eight years in jail, flogging and the confiscation of his property in his homeland for "collusion against national security".
Writing on Instagram, the director outlined repression he and his filmmaking collaborators had faced in Iran and said: "With a heavy heart, I chose exile."
The director's latest film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig will screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and his departure from Iran raises the possibility that he may be present at its world premiere. The 52-year-old has been banned from leaving the country since 2017 and was previously jailed there, from July 22 to last February. Although he was released in a general amnesty,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mohammad Rasoulof, the dissident Iranian filmmaker who was last week sentenced to eight years in prison by the Islamic Revolution Court, has fled the country, according to a statement shared with the press.
The director is in an “undisclosed location” in Europe, according to the announcement. In his statement, Rasoulof writes: “With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly.”
The sentencing came ahead of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where the director’s latest feature, Seed of the Sacred Fig is set to premiere in competition. In today’s statement, Rasoulof writes that his decision to leave the country came after he received his prison sentence and knew that his new film was likely to earn him a new sentence.
He adds: “About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed...
The director is in an “undisclosed location” in Europe, according to the announcement. In his statement, Rasoulof writes: “With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly.”
The sentencing came ahead of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where the director’s latest feature, Seed of the Sacred Fig is set to premiere in competition. In today’s statement, Rasoulof writes that his decision to leave the country came after he received his prison sentence and knew that his new film was likely to earn him a new sentence.
He adds: “About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed...
- 5/13/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mohammad Rasoulof has fled Iran less than a week after his home country sentenced him to eight years in prison and flogging. The Iranian filmmaker, who won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival for “There Is No Evil,” has a film in competition at Cannes this year for the first time: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” It’s set to premiere next week toward the end of the festival, with the director’s attendance still unknown. The film, made in secret, was added to the lineup last month. Rasoulof’s fleeing raises the question of whether he will actually be able to attend the festival after all.
In a press statement issued from an undisclosed location, Rasoulof described the repression of his team in Iran while asking the international film community for “effective support.” See the full statement, dated May 12, below.
In addition to the eight-year prison sentence and flogging,...
In a press statement issued from an undisclosed location, Rasoulof described the repression of his team in Iran while asking the international film community for “effective support.” See the full statement, dated May 12, below.
In addition to the eight-year prison sentence and flogging,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities, who pressured him to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival and harassed the film’s producers and actors.
“We are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45, who are distributing the film. “We hope he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.”
However, it remains unclear whether Rasoulof will be able to attend the Cannes world premiere of “Sacred Fig” on May 24, his Cannes publicist and French distributor also noted.
Rasoulov is among Iran’s most prominent...
“We are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45, who are distributing the film. “We hope he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.”
However, it remains unclear whether Rasoulof will be able to attend the Cannes world premiere of “Sacred Fig” on May 24, his Cannes publicist and French distributor also noted.
Rasoulov is among Iran’s most prominent...
- 5/13/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Just days before he’d premiere his new film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging in Iran. He’ll also be subjected to a fine and the confiscation of property. The filmmaker has run afoul of the theocratic government there for years, and there’s some indication the timing of this extremely harsh sentence is coercion to remove the film from the festival altogether.
It’s easy to see why the authoritarian regime might be scared of Rasoulof’s latest work. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree” is literally about a judge for the Revolutionary Court in Tehran dealing with the fallout from the nationwide protests that have swept the country in recent years, and he particularly succumbs to paranoia when his gun disappears.
The 51-year-old director has been hit with a severe sentence,...
It’s easy to see why the authoritarian regime might be scared of Rasoulof’s latest work. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree” is literally about a judge for the Revolutionary Court in Tehran dealing with the fallout from the nationwide protests that have swept the country in recent years, and he particularly succumbs to paranoia when his gun disappears.
The 51-year-old director has been hit with a severe sentence,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, according to his lawyer.
In a post on X, the filmmaker’s lawyer Babak Paknia wrote that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Court sentenced Rasoulof to eight years of imprisonment, flogging, a fine and confiscation of property. The judgment was confirmed in a Court of Appeal and the case has now been sent for enforcement, Paknia wrote.
The lawyer added that the main reason for issuing the sentence were Rasoulof’s public statements and making films and documentaries, which in the court’s opinion, are “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security.”
The news comes in the wake of Iranian authorities exerting heavy pressure on Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors were...
In a post on X, the filmmaker’s lawyer Babak Paknia wrote that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Court sentenced Rasoulof to eight years of imprisonment, flogging, a fine and confiscation of property. The judgment was confirmed in a Court of Appeal and the case has now been sent for enforcement, Paknia wrote.
The lawyer added that the main reason for issuing the sentence were Rasoulof’s public statements and making films and documentaries, which in the court’s opinion, are “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security.”
The news comes in the wake of Iranian authorities exerting heavy pressure on Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors were...
- 5/8/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran and Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property, according to his lawyer.
Posting today on social media platform X, human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who represents the filmmaker, said the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued the verdict.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is signing statements and making films and documentaries, which, according to the court, are examples of collusion and collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” he said
Iranian authorities had reportedly been putting pressure on Rasoulof to pull...
Posting today on social media platform X, human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who represents the filmmaker, said the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued the verdict.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is signing statements and making films and documentaries, which, according to the court, are examples of collusion and collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” he said
Iranian authorities had reportedly been putting pressure on Rasoulof to pull...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property, his lawyer Babak Paknia announced in a post on X on Wednesday.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is for signing statements and making films and documentaries. In the court’s opinion, these actions were examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” wrote Paknia.
News of Rasoulof’s sentencing follows in the wake of reports that the director had come under pressure from the Iranian authorities to withdraw his upcoming film The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree from the Cannes Film Festival where it is due to world premiere in Competition.
Rasoulof has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s hardline Islamic Republic government throughout his career for challenging its authoritarian rule.
In his latest brush with Iran’s hardline regime,...
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is for signing statements and making films and documentaries. In the court’s opinion, these actions were examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” wrote Paknia.
News of Rasoulof’s sentencing follows in the wake of reports that the director had come under pressure from the Iranian authorities to withdraw his upcoming film The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree from the Cannes Film Festival where it is due to world premiere in Competition.
Rasoulof has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s hardline Islamic Republic government throughout his career for challenging its authoritarian rule.
In his latest brush with Iran’s hardline regime,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Berlin-based Films Boutique has secured world sales rights to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig ahead of its premiere in Competition at Cannes, and has closed a distribution deal in France.
The latest feature by the Iranian auteur, who has faced censorship challenges in Iran for nearly 20 years, has been sold to Pyramide Distribution for release in France.
The story centres on Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana,...
The latest feature by the Iranian auteur, who has faced censorship challenges in Iran for nearly 20 years, has been sold to Pyramide Distribution for release in France.
The story centres on Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana,...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Killing of a Sacred Dear: Hamaguchi Explores Ills of Urbanization
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi explores the doctrine about the absence of evil in his latest drama Evil Does Not Exist, a quiet film pondering the necessary evils of urban development and tourism on a small, Japanese village when a corporation aims to establish a glamping hotel in their midst. Like Mohammad Rasoulof’s 2020 Golden Bear Winner There Is No Evil, Hamaguchi’s overarching theme taps into the same ‘absence of good’ philosophy expounded upon from Nietzsche to Einstein, with roots reaching all the way back to Plato. In short, as this film also depicts, there are no innately evil people, only self-serving, ignorant humans who are, also, not inherently good.…...
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi explores the doctrine about the absence of evil in his latest drama Evil Does Not Exist, a quiet film pondering the necessary evils of urban development and tourism on a small, Japanese village when a corporation aims to establish a glamping hotel in their midst. Like Mohammad Rasoulof’s 2020 Golden Bear Winner There Is No Evil, Hamaguchi’s overarching theme taps into the same ‘absence of good’ philosophy expounded upon from Nietzsche to Einstein, with roots reaching all the way back to Plato. In short, as this film also depicts, there are no innately evil people, only self-serving, ignorant humans who are, also, not inherently good.…...
- 5/2/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Iranian authorities are exerting heavy pressure on director Mohammad Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors who have been summoned for questioning and banned from leaving the country.
Human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who is Rasoulof’s lawyer, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that several unspecified actors and producers on “Sacred Fig” were summoned and questioned last week by authorities. He added that Iran’s authorities also pressured them to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
Furthermore, “Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to ask the director to remove the film from the Cannes festival,” Paknia said in the X post on Tuesday.
Rasoulof’s lawyer...
Human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who is Rasoulof’s lawyer, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that several unspecified actors and producers on “Sacred Fig” were summoned and questioned last week by authorities. He added that Iran’s authorities also pressured them to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
Furthermore, “Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to ask the director to remove the film from the Cannes festival,” Paknia said in the X post on Tuesday.
Rasoulof’s lawyer...
- 5/2/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian authorities have prohibited actors and crew from Mohammed Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig from leaving the country to attend the Cannes Film Festival, where the feature is set to play in Competition.
The unnamed actors and producers were summoned and questioned by authorities over the past week, according to lawyer Babak Paknia, who posted details on social media platform X. He said they were also pressured to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
“Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation,...
The unnamed actors and producers were summoned and questioned by authorities over the past week, according to lawyer Babak Paknia, who posted details on social media platform X. He said they were also pressured to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
“Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation,...
- 5/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is finally making his way back to the Cannes Film Festival following the controversy surrounding his Un Certain Regard 2023 jury appointment.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
After announcing a whopping number of English-language films in competition, Cannes Film Festival has added some international titles: Michel Hazanavicius’ animated feature “The Most Precious of Cargoes” and Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Variety has learned.
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Women dancing, women singing, women burning their hijab: these acts of defiance shape Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi’s feature-length debut, “My Stolen Planet.” After premiering in Berlinale’s Panorama section and winning a second place Audience Award, the film now competes for the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki International Doc Fest.
Prior to her feature, Sharifi made eight shorts while working as an editor for documentaries, including Firouzeh Khosrovani’s IDFA winning “Radiograph of a Family.”
Using the essayistic style of a diary, “My Stolen Planet” presents the joy and vivaciousness in contrast with the regimented oppression in Tehran using both the director’s personal archives and 8mm recordings of strangers’ lives. The film is produced by Anke Petersen and Lilian Tietjen of Jyoti Film and co-produced by Farzad Pak of PakFilm, who was behind the Golden Bear winner “There Is No Evil,” directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. Cat&Docs is in charge...
Prior to her feature, Sharifi made eight shorts while working as an editor for documentaries, including Firouzeh Khosrovani’s IDFA winning “Radiograph of a Family.”
Using the essayistic style of a diary, “My Stolen Planet” presents the joy and vivaciousness in contrast with the regimented oppression in Tehran using both the director’s personal archives and 8mm recordings of strangers’ lives. The film is produced by Anke Petersen and Lilian Tietjen of Jyoti Film and co-produced by Farzad Pak of PakFilm, who was behind the Golden Bear winner “There Is No Evil,” directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. Cat&Docs is in charge...
- 3/6/2024
- by Savina Petkova
- Variety Film + TV
The awards ceremony for the 74th Berlin International Film Festival kicks off Saturday night, where this year’s jury, headed by 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther actress Lupita Nyong’o, will hand out the coveted Gold and Silver Bears.
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Iranian drama My Favourite Cake is being given good odds for an award this year. The drama, about a 70-year-old widow and her tentative attempts at romance with an age-appropriate taxi driver, was a critical fave. A win for the film would also send a political message after the Iranian government banned the directors from attending Berlin. If the jury picks out Cake for the Golden Bear it would be the third time in 10 years —following Jafar Panahi’s Taxi (2015) and There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof —that Berlin has given its top honor to Iranian directors in absentia. World sales for My...
- 2/23/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s My Favourite Cake in is screening in Competition at the Berlinale today (February 16) but the directors are unable to attend the festival, having been prevented from leaving Iran by its government.
“Six months ago security guards raided our editor’s office, and took all the computers, hard drives and copies of the film,” said Sanaeeha. “They told us there will be a court case, and because of that we can’t leave the country.”
The government still holds their passports and has tried to make them withdraw the film from Berlin. “It feels like...
“Six months ago security guards raided our editor’s office, and took all the computers, hard drives and copies of the film,” said Sanaeeha. “They told us there will be a court case, and because of that we can’t leave the country.”
The government still holds their passports and has tried to make them withdraw the film from Berlin. “It feels like...
- 2/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has called on Iran to allow directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha to leave the country to attend the world premiere of their new film My Favorite Cake, which has been selected to screen in competition at the 74th Berlinale.
In a statement Thursday, the festival said that they have learned that Moghaddam and Sanaeeha have been banned from traveling, have had their passports confiscated by Iranian authorities, and face a court trial connected to their work as artists and filmmakers.
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha on the set of ‘My Favourite Cake’
“The Berlinale is a festival fundamentally committed to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the arts, for all people around the world and the festival is shocked and dismayed to learn that Moghaddam and Sanaeeha could be prevented from traveling to the festival to present their film and meet their audience in Berlin,...
In a statement Thursday, the festival said that they have learned that Moghaddam and Sanaeeha have been banned from traveling, have had their passports confiscated by Iranian authorities, and face a court trial connected to their work as artists and filmmakers.
Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha on the set of ‘My Favourite Cake’
“The Berlinale is a festival fundamentally committed to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the arts, for all people around the world and the festival is shocked and dismayed to learn that Moghaddam and Sanaeeha could be prevented from traveling to the festival to present their film and meet their audience in Berlin,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Totem Films, the Paris-based sales and production company known for arthouse breakouts such as “Compartment No. 6” and “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry,” has boarded sales on “My Favourite Cake” by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha. The Iranian writing-directing duo’s latest feature was just announced in competition at the upcoming Berlinale.
The film stars newcomer Lily Farhadpour as Mahin and renowned Iranian actor Esmail Mehrabi as Faramarz.
Seventy-year-old Mahin lives alone, until she decides to break her solitary routine and revitalize her love life. But as she opens up to romance, an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unforgettable evening.
Moghaddam and Sanaeeha said: “’My Favourite Cake’ is based on the reality of the everyday lives of middle-class women in Iran. The realities of women’s lives in Iran have hardly ever been told, yet this is a playful tale about hope and joy in life, as well as the absurdity of death.
The film stars newcomer Lily Farhadpour as Mahin and renowned Iranian actor Esmail Mehrabi as Faramarz.
Seventy-year-old Mahin lives alone, until she decides to break her solitary routine and revitalize her love life. But as she opens up to romance, an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unforgettable evening.
Moghaddam and Sanaeeha said: “’My Favourite Cake’ is based on the reality of the everyday lives of middle-class women in Iran. The realities of women’s lives in Iran have hardly ever been told, yet this is a playful tale about hope and joy in life, as well as the absurdity of death.
- 1/24/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Ali Asgari, whose latest film “Terrestrial Verses” (co-directed by Alireza Khatami) world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, has been banned by the Iranian authorities from leaving the country and directing movies until further notice.
The sole Iranian movie to play in Cannes Official Selection this year, “Terrestrial Verses” earned a warm critical response at the festival, where it played in Un Certain Regard, and was sold by Films Boutique around the world. But when Asgari returned to Iran after the premiere, he had his passport confiscated by the local authorities to prevent him from attending further international festivals. In an attempt to silence him, the Iranian regime also threatened to send him to prison as has happened to other outspoken Iranian directors. Just a couple weeks ago, Saeed Roustaee and his producer were sentenced to six months to prison for showing their film “Leila’s Brothers” at last...
The sole Iranian movie to play in Cannes Official Selection this year, “Terrestrial Verses” earned a warm critical response at the festival, where it played in Un Certain Regard, and was sold by Films Boutique around the world. But when Asgari returned to Iran after the premiere, he had his passport confiscated by the local authorities to prevent him from attending further international festivals. In an attempt to silence him, the Iranian regime also threatened to send him to prison as has happened to other outspoken Iranian directors. Just a couple weeks ago, Saeed Roustaee and his producer were sentenced to six months to prison for showing their film “Leila’s Brothers” at last...
- 9/1/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It’s hard to watch “Empty Nets” and not think of “Luzzu,” the recent, poignant Sundance prizewinner from Malta: In both films, enterprising young men left in the lurch by a national financial crisis must resort to black-market fishing to, well, stay afloat. (All we need is a third film paddling in such forbidden waters to declare a new neo-realist trend.) In “Luzzu,” the protagonist was a lifelong fisherman passionate about his trade, while Behrooz Karamizade’s lean, engrossing, Iran-set debut centers on a handy novice merely looking to make a quick buck. In this economy, however, such differences prove immaterial. It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, unless you’re coming from money: You’re otherwise all sinking below the surface.
Premiering in the main competition at Karlovy Vary, this is a confidently quiet, elegiac first feature from Iranian-German writer-director Karamizade — who brings a certain European arthouse...
Premiering in the main competition at Karlovy Vary, this is a confidently quiet, elegiac first feature from Iranian-German writer-director Karamizade — who brings a certain European arthouse...
- 7/6/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Behrooz Karamizade’s Iranian drama “Empty Nets,” which has its international premiere in the Crystal Globe Competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, offers a sobering look at the increasingly difficult, sometimes hopeless lives of young working-class people in Iran as they strive for better lives.
Set on Iran’s northern Caspian Sea coast, the film follows Amir (Hamid Reza Abbasi), a young man who, desperate to marry his girlfriend Narges (Sadif Asgari), seeks work at a local fishery with the hope of earning enough money for an appropriate dowry and winning over her upper-class parents. Once there, illicit opportunities present themselves and he is soon drawn into the dangerous but lucrative business of sturgeon poaching and the black market caviar trade.
The Iranian-German director, who grew up in Germany, says he always wanted to shoot his first feature film in Iran. “I’m very impressed by Iranian cinema and...
Set on Iran’s northern Caspian Sea coast, the film follows Amir (Hamid Reza Abbasi), a young man who, desperate to marry his girlfriend Narges (Sadif Asgari), seeks work at a local fishery with the hope of earning enough money for an appropriate dowry and winning over her upper-class parents. Once there, illicit opportunities present themselves and he is soon drawn into the dangerous but lucrative business of sturgeon poaching and the black market caviar trade.
The Iranian-German director, who grew up in Germany, says he always wanted to shoot his first feature film in Iran. “I’m very impressed by Iranian cinema and...
- 6/28/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Valizadegan was born in Tehran in 1986. He graduated from the School of Art and Architecture with a master's degree in theatre directing and works as an actor, dancer and filmmaker. He played the role of Javad in “There Is No Evil”, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin 2020. “And Me, I'm Dancing Too” is his debut as a director. which won the Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film 14plus in Berlinale.
“And Me, I'm Dancing Too” is screening at Vienna Shorts
The movie begins with a camera turned on the protagonist, Saba, who passionately explains her disgruntlement for people not dancing every chance they get. With the camera placed in the bottom and shooting upwards, we watch a number of people dancing to ambient-like music, wearing white shirts, in a sequence that is soon revealed to be a rehearsal. The same girl then is the showed shooting a documentary,...
“And Me, I'm Dancing Too” is screening at Vienna Shorts
The movie begins with a camera turned on the protagonist, Saba, who passionately explains her disgruntlement for people not dancing every chance they get. With the camera placed in the bottom and shooting upwards, we watch a number of people dancing to ambient-like music, wearing white shirts, in a sequence that is soon revealed to be a rehearsal. The same girl then is the showed shooting a documentary,...
- 6/1/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Leading lights of contemporary Iranian cinema, including “Holy Spider” actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, “The Siren” director Sepideh Farsi, “The Opponent” helmer Milad Alami and producer Kaveh Farnam, turned up at the Cannes Film Festival to raise the alarm on the repression faced by Iranian cinema during a session hosted by Amazon Prime Video’s Sahar Baghery.
Iran has been the centerstage of widespread protests driven by women against the Islamic regime since Mahsa Amini died in police custody for for wearing her hijab too loosely in September 2022. Although the rebellion has garnered vocal support outside of Iran, it hasn’t succeeded in dethroning the Iranian regime. A number of dissident Iranian filmmakers and talent have been jailed over the last six months, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof who was recently released from prison. Rasoulof was nevertheless banned from leaving Iran to serve on the jury of Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Iran has been the centerstage of widespread protests driven by women against the Islamic regime since Mahsa Amini died in police custody for for wearing her hijab too loosely in September 2022. Although the rebellion has garnered vocal support outside of Iran, it hasn’t succeeded in dethroning the Iranian regime. A number of dissident Iranian filmmakers and talent have been jailed over the last six months, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof who was recently released from prison. Rasoulof was nevertheless banned from leaving Iran to serve on the jury of Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
- 5/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The winds of change are sweeping Iran as the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ protests, provoked by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, continue. Here, four Iranian disruptors talk about their struggles, their acts of solidarity for the pro-democracy movement, and their hopes for the future of their country.
Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi, who was 9 years old when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, recalls taking to the streets with her politically active parents to protest against the imposition of the hijab. “My mum went to demonstrate, and I went too, and so did my dad,” recalls the graphic novelist and filmmaker. “He was one of the very few men; they didn’t understand at the time that women’s rights are society’s rights.”
Satrapi’s parents sent her to Europe to study as a teenager and encouraged her to make her permanent home there. Satrapi captured...
Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi, who was 9 years old when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, recalls taking to the streets with her politically active parents to protest against the imposition of the hijab. “My mum went to demonstrate, and I went too, and so did my dad,” recalls the graphic novelist and filmmaker. “He was one of the very few men; they didn’t understand at the time that women’s rights are society’s rights.”
Satrapi’s parents sent her to Europe to study as a teenager and encouraged her to make her permanent home there. Satrapi captured...
- 5/18/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the momentous burst of rebellion against the Iranian regime prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini are reverberating profoundly at the Cannes Film Festival.
At the festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve paid tribute to the war’s victims by reciting a poem from Ukrainian poet Lessia Oukraïnka, solemnly declaring: “I no longer have either happiness or freedom, only one hope remains to me: to return one day to my beautiful Ukraine.” One year ago, Cannes got off to an emotional start with remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On the industry side, official Russian delegations and companies with ties to the government are again banned from participating in the Cannes Marché du Film. And Iran’s Farabi Film Foundation, the top national film entity which has been attending the market for years, has not been allowed to book a stand,...
At the festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve paid tribute to the war’s victims by reciting a poem from Ukrainian poet Lessia Oukraïnka, solemnly declaring: “I no longer have either happiness or freedom, only one hope remains to me: to return one day to my beautiful Ukraine.” One year ago, Cannes got off to an emotional start with remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On the industry side, official Russian delegations and companies with ties to the government are again banned from participating in the Cannes Marché du Film. And Iran’s Farabi Film Foundation, the top national film entity which has been attending the market for years, has not been allowed to book a stand,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli and Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof’s invitation to Cannes has ignited a campaign to allow the Iranian filmmaker to leave his home nation.
International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Icfr), an Amsterdam-based organization, issued a statement titled “Let Mohammad Rasoulof Go!” urging the Iranian government to allow the filmmaker to travel to France for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was invited to serve on the Un Certain Regard jury but is unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him.
Rasoulof was recently banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Similarly, director Jafar Panahi, who was detained alongside Rasoulof,...
International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Icfr), an Amsterdam-based organization, issued a statement titled “Let Mohammad Rasoulof Go!” urging the Iranian government to allow the filmmaker to travel to France for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was invited to serve on the Un Certain Regard jury but is unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him.
Rasoulof was recently banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Similarly, director Jafar Panahi, who was detained alongside Rasoulof,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Mohammad Rasoulof revealed he was invited to serve on the 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard jury but was forced to turn down the spot due to a travel ban from his home nation of Iran.
Per Radio France Internationale (Rfi), Rasoulof was prevented from leaving Iran to attend the French festival. Rfi also reported that Cannes organizers are still trying to provide conditions for Rasoulof to be in attendance. The director formerly received the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2011 for “Goodbye” and won the Fipresci prize in 2013 for “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” followed by the Un Certain Regard award for “A Man of Integrity” in 2017.
The 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard jury will be overseen by jury president John C. Reilly and consists of French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, Franco-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou, and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.
Per Radio France Internationale (Rfi), Rasoulof was prevented from leaving Iran to attend the French festival. Rfi also reported that Cannes organizers are still trying to provide conditions for Rasoulof to be in attendance. The director formerly received the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2011 for “Goodbye” and won the Fipresci prize in 2013 for “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” followed by the Un Certain Regard award for “A Man of Integrity” in 2017.
The 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard jury will be overseen by jury president John C. Reilly and consists of French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, Franco-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou, and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.
- 5/4/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Mohammad Rasoulof’s hopes to attend the Cannes Film Festival have been dashed.
The acclaimed Iranian director and dissident has been banned from leaving his home country in order to serve on the festival’s Un Certain Regard jury.
Read More: Iran Releases Oscar-Winning Film Actress Held Over Protests
According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite being granted a temporary release from prison in February due to ill health, Rasoulof is not being allowed to exit Iran.
The news comes after fellow director Jafar Panahi was allowed to leave the country for the first time in 14 years in order to visit his daughter in France.
Rasoulof is a prominent critic of the Iranian government, which has landed him in legal trouble for years, landing him in prison multiple times.
He has been banned from making movies, and for the last six years has been barred from travelling outside Iran.
Despite the legal troubles,...
The acclaimed Iranian director and dissident has been banned from leaving his home country in order to serve on the festival’s Un Certain Regard jury.
Read More: Iran Releases Oscar-Winning Film Actress Held Over Protests
According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite being granted a temporary release from prison in February due to ill health, Rasoulof is not being allowed to exit Iran.
The news comes after fellow director Jafar Panahi was allowed to leave the country for the first time in 14 years in order to visit his daughter in France.
Rasoulof is a prominent critic of the Iranian government, which has landed him in legal trouble for years, landing him in prison multiple times.
He has been banned from making movies, and for the last six years has been barred from travelling outside Iran.
Despite the legal troubles,...
- 5/4/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Iranian director was released from jail in February.
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been prevented from leaving his home country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
According to the Farsi service of Radio France International (Rfi), Cannes invited Rasoulof to join the Un Certain Regard jury following his release from jail in Tehran in February.
Rasoulof was jailed last year over an appeal he and documentary filmmaker Mostafa Al-Ahmad posted on social media speaking out against the repression of civil protestors in the country.
Rfi said that Cannes had hoped that...
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been prevented from leaving his home country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
According to the Farsi service of Radio France International (Rfi), Cannes invited Rasoulof to join the Un Certain Regard jury following his release from jail in Tehran in February.
Rasoulof was jailed last year over an appeal he and documentary filmmaker Mostafa Al-Ahmad posted on social media speaking out against the repression of civil protestors in the country.
Rfi said that Cannes had hoped that...
- 5/4/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been banned from leaving Iran to serve as a member of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury, he has confirmed to Variety.
News of the travel ban for the director who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media, was first reported by the Farsi-language news service of Radio France Internationale (Rfi). Rasoulof via text message confirmed he was not allowed by Iranian authorities to leave the country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury. No reason was provided.
The Cannes Film Festival declined to comment.
U.S. actor John C. Reilly will serve as president of the Un Certain Regard jury. The other jury members are French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actor Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne.
News of the travel ban for the director who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media, was first reported by the Farsi-language news service of Radio France Internationale (Rfi). Rasoulof via text message confirmed he was not allowed by Iranian authorities to leave the country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury. No reason was provided.
The Cannes Film Festival declined to comment.
U.S. actor John C. Reilly will serve as president of the Un Certain Regard jury. The other jury members are French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actor Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne.
- 5/4/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been banned from leaving the country to take part in the Cannes Film Festival Un Certai Regard jury.
The news was broken by Radio France Internationale (Rfi) - a Farsi-language news agency - last night.
The There Is No Evil director was jailed last year for criticising the government but was released in February.
Rfi reported that the festival had hoped that Rasoulof, 50, would be able to leave the country to be part of the jury and target="_Blank">Deadline said it had confirmed this with the director.
The news comes after it emerged that Jafar Panahi - who was also released from jail in February, after going on hunger strike - had been permitted to leave Iran for the first time in 14 years last week. He visited his daughter in France and returned a few days later.
The news was broken by Radio France Internationale (Rfi) - a Farsi-language news agency - last night.
The There Is No Evil director was jailed last year for criticising the government but was released in February.
Rfi reported that the festival had hoped that Rasoulof, 50, would be able to leave the country to be part of the jury and target="_Blank">Deadline said it had confirmed this with the director.
The news comes after it emerged that Jafar Panahi - who was also released from jail in February, after going on hunger strike - had been permitted to leave Iran for the first time in 14 years last week. He visited his daughter in France and returned a few days later.
- 5/4/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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