The 40th Haifa International Film Festival announced on Monday that it will open with a screening of the acclaimed film, 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig', by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who escaped from Iran last spring after being threatened by the government.

The Haifa International Film Festival will run from October 15-26 at the Haifa Cinematheque and other theaters around the city.

'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize, an award given by an international organization of movie critics. Rasoulof managed to attend the Cannes premiere after escaping from Iran into Europe a few weeks before the festival. He had been pressured by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to withdraw the film from Cannes, and when he refused, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging, as well as heavy fines and the confiscation of his assets. His escape came after decades of persecution at the hands of the regime, during which he served several prison terms for making movies critical of the government. Members of the cast and crew of 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' were also interrogated by the regime.

A PHOTO OF Mahsa Amini is pictured at a vigil of students and activists from Delhi University in New Delhi, India, last September following her death. (credit: REUTERS/ANUSHREE FADNAVIS)
A PHOTO OF Mahsa Amini is pictured at a vigil of students and activists from Delhi University in New Delhi, India, last September following her death. (credit: REUTERS/ANUSHREE FADNAVIS)

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' is a political allegory/thriller about a judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court who finds himself becoming anxious about the loyalty of his wife and children in the wake of the protests over the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022 for not wearing her hijab properly. When a gun he was given by the government to protect himself from dissidents disappears, his anxiety turns into paranoia.

Rasoulof’s previous films include 'There is No Evil', which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020. The movie told four stories of individuals threatened by the Iranian government.

The Haifa International Film Festival has shown many Iranian films and hosted filmmakers forced to leave Iran over the years, among them Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Sepideh Farsi, and Mehran Tamadon.

The festival is held with the support of the Israel Film Council, the Culture and Sport Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Regional Cooperation Ministry, and the Municipality of Haifa. It is produced by ETHOS – the Haifa Municipality Art, Culture, and Sports Association Company, and Yaron Shamir is its artistic director.

For more information, go to https://www.haifaff.co.il/