Cinema Is Freedom: Mohammad Rasoulof on “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”

Leaving down the much metaphorical connection of his earlier films successful favour of an incendiary nonstop address, Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is simply a brave and searing play astir an Iranian household torn isolated by theocracy and its repressive mechanisms. Shot wholly successful secret, it’s besides the past movie that Rasoulof was capable to marque successful Iran earlier being forced to fly his location country. 

Now successful theaters, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” follows a lawyer named Iman (Missagh Zareh), who is promoted to investigating justice successful Tehran and soon issued a weapon for his ain protection. His wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), initially supports Iman’s caller role, which provides him with a higher salary, but he’s soon demoralized by corruption astatine enactment successful the courts. Amid intensifying protests sparked by the decease of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian pistillate killed successful constabulary custody, Iman finds himself astatine likelihood with his daughters—21-year-old Rezvan and teenage Sana—who harbor sympathy for the protesters. After his weapon goes missing, Iman becomes progressively paranoid. As the household fractures nether the unit of his distrust, their anguished home play lays bare larger responsibility lines successful Iranian society, with the blimpish begetter demanding submission and obedience from his much modern-minded daughters portion his woman is caught helplessly betwixt them. 

Previously arrested and censured aggregate times by the Iranian authorities for his pointed critiques of the authoritarian mindset, Rasoulof has repeatedly centered authorities officials successful his work, challenging their complicity successful perpetrating authorities violence. “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” told of the state-sanctioned execution of writers and intellectuals. In “A Man of Integrity,” corruption was truthful pervasive arsenic to permeate adjacent a agrarian farmer’s regular existence. And “There Is No Evil” examined superior punishment successful Iran done 4 stories of individuals tasked with carrying retired executions.

Halfway done shooting “Sacred Fig,” Rasoulof learned that Iran’s Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to 8 years successful prison, positive lashings, connected the complaint of “propaganda against the regime,” related to his erstwhile films and activism. Rasoulof had already faced situation sentences and movie bans and was sent to jailhouse for 7 months successful 2022 aft signing a petition captious of the government; helium knew, this time, determination would beryllium nary anticipation of appeal. Rasoulof besides anticipated, erstwhile the tribunal discovered the beingness of “Sacred Fig,” that further charges would beryllium brought, efficaciously ending his career. 

And truthful Rasoulof chose to fly Iran, traveling connected ft implicit unsafe upland passes; the arduous 28-day travel took him archetypal to Germany, wherever helium present lives successful exile, past onto the Cannes Film Festival successful France, for the film’s premiere. There, helium held up pictures of actors Zareh and Golestani, some of whom were prevented from leaving Iran to be the premiere; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was aboriginal awarded a Special Jury Prize, successful summation to the FIPRESCI Prize. It’s besides Germany’s Oscar-shortlisted submission for Best International Feature, with authoritative nominations to beryllium announced Jan. 17.

Earlier this week, Rasoulof spoke, with the assistance of interpreter Dr. Sheida Dayani, astir the narration betwixt his filmmaking and the restrictions imposed connected him done his career, cameras and guns arsenic instruments of power, and the roots of his tendency to dismantle patriarchy wrong the household unit. 

This interrogation has been edited and condensed. 

The films you’ve made person examined authoritarianism successful the Iranian regime, but I’m funny if you could archer maine astir the relationship, arsenic you spot it, betwixt the restrictions you’ve faced passim your vocation and the films you’ve made arsenic a result—how the erstwhile has informed the latter.

The archetypal happening that’s inspiring to maine successful cinema is freedom. When I ticker galore of the large works of cinema and comparison them to what I spot happening successful Iranian cinema, I ever question however it is that the limitations upon Iranian artists support becoming greater connected a regular basis, fixed each the censorship they face. The archetypal inspiration I find successful cinema is that it is simply a spot of creator freedom, and truthful it has go evident to maine that, successful each of my films, this regulation constitutes a situation for maine to constitute about. That thought has followed maine passim my career.

When you marque a movie nether the shadiness of fearfulness and censorship, you are doing thing much than cinema. I person been trying to defy censorship for years. This absorption created a concern successful my filmmaking successful which, starting with writing, I was reasoning astir the limitations successful executing my ideas. This was ever a problem, but the limitations became progressively much to the constituent that, successful “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” the benignant of storytelling and narration are precise overmuch influenced by the limitations. However, it is ever important to maine that these limitations find a originative outlet successful the movie alternatively than causing distress for the assemblage oregon giving the content that the assemblage indispensable fto spell of definite standards oregon crook a unsighted oculus to the film’s shortcomings conscionable due to the fact that the movie was made with limitations. 

I judge warring these limitations, much than anything, has created a adjacent narration with absorption done creativity. My consciousness is that it is not conscionable maine successful the process of penning but each my colleagues who were affected by it; the actors, the cinematographer, the acceptable designer, the costume designer, etc. We each had to accommodate to these limitations successful a mode that, erstwhile the movie is seen, the assemblage thinks little astir the information that it was made nether peculiar circumstances.

Your erstwhile film, “There Is No Evil,” was besides filmed clandestinely; it focused connected the ethical and psychic harm 1 incurs successful perpetrating unit connected behalf of authorities law. That question of idiosyncratic work is inactive applicable to “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” but you further research the harm 1 successful that presumption inflicts connected others—including, nevertheless inadvertently, connected their ain family. 

In an authoritarian situation, you look ethical questions connected a regular basis. You are forced to determine astir the truthfulness and untruthfulness of everything. The crushed is that cooperating with an authoritarian strategy does not conscionable impact your life; the decisions you marque for yourself tin impact different people, adjacent instrumentality distant the lives of different people. So, erstwhile idiosyncratic submits to an authoritarian concern and becomes devoted to its system, and gradually becomes biased astir it, the question is: however could this bias pb to large violence, adjacent against radical adjacent to you, not conscionable against those extracurricular your family? You could adjacent go convulsive against your contiguous family. In the past of the Islamic Republic of Iran, determination are galore examples successful which adjacent fathers played a relation successful the executions of their sons, brothers showed large acts of unit against each other, and members of the aforesaid household became successful superior absorption to 1 another.

Through focusing connected this family, you exposure this increasing rift successful Iranian society, not simply betwixt parents and children but betwixt fathers and daughters, husbands and wives. How did you attack penning this family’s dynamic, to equilibrium making it existent but besides typical of Iranian history?

When I was penning this film, my cardinal thought was that I was explaining the relationships betwixt the household members wrong 1 household unit. But the much I continued to write, the much I started having questions astir the narration betwixt the household relations and the nine and past of Iran, due to the fact that I was reasoning that the main contented successful some of those structures was the contented of patriarchy. 

As I was watching the repression successful that nine and astir the world, I was besides questioning its narration with patriarchy, due to the fact that repression ever follows patriarchy. It ever follows. And now, successful Iran today, we person spiritual patriarchy and spiritual repression that continue. I decided to instrumentality the communicative successful a absorption that would not conscionable summarize household relations, truthful that I could besides marque references to this humanities suffering. As I was continuing with the household relations, for instance, I realized that the quality of Iman would find refuge successful his father’s house, which is simply a awesome of tradition; with the prime of the last location, I could task the communicative of this household onto the past of Iran. 

To inquire astir a circumstantial scene, I’m funny astir your attack to the confrontation astatine the meal table, betwixt Iman and Rezvan, during which helium accuses her of being brainwashed by propaganda; she retorts that his decades moving for the authorities bash not mean that helium knows amended than her, lone that helium wishes to sphere the structures helium works each time to uphold. 

The spark of this movie came from a speech I had with 1 of the higher officials successful prison, who told maine that helium was rather embarrassed astir his occupation successful the regime, whenever helium had conversations with his household members and his children. I inactive ever question the lives of radical who enactment successful the system, whether oregon not they archer their household members what they do; and if they bash archer their household members, what feelings does that provoke? 

All of those questions led maine into penning that scene, which is simply a country that highlights the chasm betwixt the characters of the household members and the quality of the father. In this scene, the household realizes that helium has devoted his past 20 years to presenting world successful different way. Here, due to the fact that of that, helium has arrived astatine a constituent of divergence with his household members. 

Various instruments of unit play a relation successful the story, but nonstop power of a handgun is cardinal to the plot. Chekhov’s weapon arsenic a storytelling instrumentality aside, this prime complicates the question of who wields the powerfulness to inflict violence. As an investigating judge, Iman is an instrumentality of the spiritual government; successful his mind, this makes him a righteous hold of God’s will. But erstwhile the weapon goes missing, that powerfulness is threatened.

I believe, successful summation to violence, we request to speech astir the instauration of fear, due to the fact that the fearfulness of being controlled and placed nether surveillance successful a nine that exists nether repression is simply a precise analyzable feeling. The weapon itself is simply a awesome of power. When the proprietor of that powerfulness believes they are losing power implicit it, I often deliberation astir what caller characteristics travel retired of their personality. 

This is precisely what happens successful the narration betwixt governmental powerfulness and the radical of Iran. I judge that however the weapon functions successful the movie is not conscionable astir carnal acts of violence; it’s astir the dissemination of a deficiency of trust. I judge this has been the biggest instrumentality of the Iranian regime: the enactment of disseminating deficiency of spot among people. The authorities has ever benefited from this dissemination. The aforesaid is existent successful presumption of what happens to the operation of the family, and you tin spot this impacting idiosyncratic relationships betwixt the members of the family.

Relatedly, the camera plays a analyzable relation successful “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”—as a limb of the authorities successful signaling forced confessions, arsenic a witnesser to authorities unit during the protests, arsenic a instrumentality some Iman and the mates successful the car usage to movie each different during their standoff. Tell maine astir your attack to incorporating the camera into this story, and what powerfulness the camera contains. 

This is simply a precise absorbing constituent you raise. When I got retired of jail, I realized that the camera itself had the quality to expose, whereas earlier it had lone been a instrumentality of the state, to beryllium utilized successful repressing people; the authorities would enactment radical successful beforehand of the camera and marque them supply forced confessions. After societal media came into being, however, and aft I got retired of jail, I realized that radical were present utilizing their cameras to exposure the information of what was happening. 

There is simply a caller societal improvement happening here, due to the fact that portion the authorities does not let the journalists to instrumentality their cameras into the protests and seizure immoderate images that amusement the world of the situation, radical themselves are present utilizing their cameras and taking photos and videos of each different and of themselves, broadcasting it to the world. That past allows the satellite to cognize what is happening connected the ground.

And this way continues. The images that the authorities manipulatively presents and the images that radical seizure connected their cameras are successful contradiction with 1 another. This besides shows america that the close to marque and amusement contented is nary longer successful the hands of the governmental power; radical person taken matters into their ain hands, particularly the younger generation, by broadcasting their contented to the world.

You had been imprisoned doubly earlier and fled to Germany portion making “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” to debar further situation time. You’ve ever drawn inspiration from your surroundings, truthful I’m funny if you’ve yet had a infinitesimal to research Germany oregon see aspects of your beingness determination that mightiness pass your filmmaking. 

I inactive person not been capable to really acquisition surviving successful Germany, due to the fact that I americium perpetually traveling. Given this, I person not had a accidental to settee there, to beryllium capable to synchronize with my environment. But I ever judge that my stories person travel from mundane surviving experiences, truthful I americium definite that, successful the future, determination volition beryllium thing that catches my attention. Of course, archetypal I request to beryllium capable to unrecorded successful 1 place.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is present successful theaters, via Neon.