In September 2022, the young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of the morality police in Tehran. Amini was visiting the city with her family and was arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab correctly. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) by Mohammad Rasoulof weaves a fictional story rooted in the death of Mahsa Amini and the protests that erupted across Iran, which led to further violence and fatalities.

The very act of filming a movie with a social and political message that directly confronts the Iranian regime is, in itself, a feat of epic proportions. The production was carried out clandestinely, and it wasn’t until the film was announced as part of the official selection at Cannes that the Iranian government became aware of its existence. Director Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison, but he managed to flee the country and attend the Cannes Film Festival to receive the Jury Prize.

Rasoulof’s script places us at the heart of an ordinary family in Tehran amid the social unrest. Iman (Missagh Zareh) is the father, a lawyer who has just been promoted to investigative judge in the Tehran Revolutionary Court. His wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) sees this promotion as a great opportunity for the family. Their daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), are torn between family loyalty and their own beliefs. Rasoulof begins with the intimate, seemingly ordinary, and inconsequential family conflict, to take us into a drama with massive implications. That family becomes a micro-ecosystem representing, on a smaller scale, the broader ecosystem of an entire country.

The Sacred Fig

The Seed of the Sacred Fig begins with a description of the life cycle of the Ficus Religiosa. The seeds of this fig tree are deposited in other trees by bird droppings; from there, its roots grow, and its branches strangle the host tree until the Ficus Religiosa stands firm on its own. A perfect analogy for Rasoulof’s political message and a fitting description of the character Iman. The film’s images are as powerful as its sociopolitical message—at times dreamlike, at others disturbingly real.

The visuals by cinematographer Pooyan Aghababaei are interspersed with real social media footage capturing various moments from the protests, framing the story. This juxtaposition gives the film, at times, a documentary feel and heightens the impact of the director’s message. With a slow and deliberate rhythm, the film builds until it suffocates us in its powerful final act.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig is one of those films that lingers in the mind for a long time. Sequences like the “husband’s purification,” rich in symbolism, or the final chase through an abandoned city ending with that imposing closing shot, showcase Rasoulof’s mastery. The strength of this film lies in how it succeeds both as a cinematic work and as a sociopolitical denunciation, without turning into a melodrama or cheap pamphlet.