(24 May 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cannes, France – 24 May 2024
1. Mid shot of filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and actor Golshifteh Farahani posing on red carpet
2. Close of Mohammad Rasoulof and Golshifteh Farahani
3. Wide of Mohammad Rasoulof and Golshifteh Farahani
4. Cutaway photographers
5. Mid, zoom in, of Mohammad Rasoulof holding a picture of actor Missagh Zareh, and Golshifteh Farahani holding a picture of actor Soheila Golestani
6. Tracking shot of Golshifteh Farahani posing and walking up steps of Palais des Festivals
7. Cutaway photographers
8. Wide, zoom in, of Mohammad Rasoulof – holding pictures of Missagh Zareh, and Soheila Golestani – posing with cast and crew members of "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"
9. Close of pictures of Missagh Zareh, and Soheila Golestani, pull out to wide of Mohammad Rasoulof with cast
10. Wide of Rasoulof and cast walking up Palais des Festivals steps
11. Various of Rasoulof and cast on steps
STORYLINE:
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof premiered his film "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" in Cannes on Friday, two weeks after fleeing Iran.
He was joined by the cast and crew members from his film who were able to leave Iran, as well as Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani.
Rasoulof and Farahani held up pictures of "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" actors Missagh Zareh and Soheila Golestani, who are still in Iran and were unable to attend the premiere.
Rasoulof was facing eight years in prison — and likely more considering the uncompromising nature of his latest film — when he decided to flee his home country.
His films and statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters had already earned him a long string of prison sentences, filmmaking bans, travel restrictions and the confiscation of his passport in 2017.
Two weeks after his risky escape on foot across Iran’s mountainous borderland, Rasoulof arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with a completed film.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is set during the 2022 protests in Iran and includes real cellphone footage from the demonstrations.
The film follows a fictional family of four — a father, mother and two daughters — who acutely internalize the political turmoil.
The father, who works in the justice system, is forced to rubber-stamp sentences of protesters. He grows increasingly suspicious of his wife and daughters, as the film turns into a darkly penetrating examination of contemporary Iran.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was shot clandestinely in Iran, with a small cast and crew.
Before the movie was edited, some actors also fled Iran. But others who helped make the film have been interrogated and their families summoned for questioning.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is one of 22 films competing for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.
The winner will be announced on Saturday, 25 May.
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