Mohammad Rasoulof on Escaping Iran and Why the Regime Won’t ‘Last Long’: We Can’t ‘Allow Them to Go on Holding Their People Hostage’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof a few days ago absconded from his country with a heavy heart after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court for making his latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” Ironically, the groundbreaking drama is centered on an investigating judge operating within the same judicial system that has been heavily harassing the film’s producers and actors, and that intended to put Rasoulof behind bars.
Having made the tough decision of escaping his beloved homeland, Rasoulof – who is among Iran’s most prominent directors – prepares to attend the film’s world premiere at Cannes on Friday.
Prior to the timely drama’s bow, Rasoulof spoke to Variety about his drive to keep making movies about Iran that speak truth to power — regardless of the consequences — and expressed his firm conviction that the fiercely repressive Iranian regime is on its last legs. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” says a lot about the current state of affairs in Iran.
What prompted you to tell this specific story centered on an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran and his wife and daughters all contending with the bold protests that followed the death of Masha Amini? For years, I’ve been asking myself, “Who are the people who make this [judicial] system work?” It’s not just a structural system.
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