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, who pressured him to pull “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Cannes and harassed the film’s producers and actors.
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The Farsi-language film centers 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, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step, social norms and the rules of family life are suspended.
The production companies are Run Way Pictures in Germany and Parallel45 in France. The producers are Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei, Mani Tilgner, Rozita Hendijanian and Jean-Christophe Simon, in co-production with ARTE France Cinéma and with the support of Aide aux Cinémas du Monde – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée – Institut français, and MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.
The main cast are Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh. The scriptwriter was Rasoulof. Cinematographer is by Pooyan Aghababaei. The editor is Andrew Bird. The original score is by Karzan Mahmood.
Rasoulof’s feature films includes “There Is No Evil,” 2020, which won the Berlin Golden Bear, “A Man of Integrity,” 2017, which won the Cannes Un Certain Regard award, “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” 2013, which won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize, “Goodbye,” 2011, “The White Meadows,” 2009, and “Iron Island,” 2005.
