The Seed of the Sacred Fig

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Unclassified 18+
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof / 2024 / 168 mins / Iran / Farsi / Drama, Thriller / Victorian Premiere
Program Strand/s: Headliners

Modern and traditional values clash in acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s daring family drama, which won the Prix Spécial and the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes.

In Tehran, the exemplary family of an investigating judge are tested by the dramatic events following a young woman’s death in police custody. Civil servant Iman has just been appointed to the Revolutionary Court, where he’s expected to extract confessions, serve death penalties to dissidents, and withhold information from loved ones. As demonstrations against compulsory hijab-wearing rock the city, Iman loses his gun and suspects his wife Najmeh and their two daughters – who’ve been protecting a protester – have stolen it, later subjecting them to interrogations as though they, too, have transgressed the law. Will Najmeh stand up to her husband, and to the state?

Responding to his country’s punishing political climate, Rasoulof (There Is No Evil, MIFF 2021; A Man of Integrity, MIFF 2017) returns with a searing drama that captures the growing unrest among a generation deprived of rights. The Iranian director had shot the incendiary film in secret, and – after receiving an eight-year prison sentence earlier this year – fled the country to attend its competition premiere at Cannes. Much like its maker, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a courageous testament of resistance against tyranny.

“A radical triumph … There are only a handful of films you’ll see in a lifetime that will capture a moment in time with a fraction of the same clarity, conviction, and compassion … A remarkable, revolutionary work of art.” – Collider


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Tickets

17 Aug 6:00pm The Capitol
Access: Assistive listening Wheelchair Accessible 100 percent subtitled
Past Session
Past Session
22 Aug 6:00pm The Astor Theatre
Access: Wheelchair Accessible 100 percent subtitled
Past Session
Past Session
23 Aug 2:30pm The Capitol
Access: Assistive listening Wheelchair Accessible 100 percent subtitled
Past Session
Past Session
25 Aug 3:15pm Hoyts Melbourne Central Cinema 10
Access: Assistive listening Wheelchair Accessible 100 percent subtitled
Past Session
Past Session

For information about the accessible services being offered at MIFF, please visit miff.com.au/access. If you require any access service, such as wheelchair/step-free access, for any MIFF session, please call 03 8660 4888 or email boxoffice@miff.com.au to book your ticket.

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