The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof’s mesmerising thriller explores the dividing lines in Iranian society.  

When Iman (Missagh Zareh) becomes a judge, his family is thrust into the public eye. As political unrest erupts on the streets, Iman’s position becomes more dangerous, and his divided loyalties are exposed when his government-issued gun goes missing and suspicion falls on his wife Najmeh (played by actor and anti-hijab protester Soheila Golestani) and their daughters (Setareh Malek, Mahsa Rostami). 

Combining an electrifying generational battle with real-life footage of Iran’s protest movement, The Seed of the Sacred Fig has a lightning-in-a-bottle urgency that’s hard to capture in fiction or documentary alone.