UPDATE: Iran strikes again. It turns out that they’ve decided to sentence Rasoulof to eight years in prison and flogging.
We also now know what “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is about. The plot tackles a judge for the Revolutionary Court in Tehran dealing with the fallout of nationwide protests. This is obviously a highly political film, and the fact that Rasoulof managed to even direct it in Iran is something of a miracle.
It's possible that Iranian authorities have sentenced Rasoulof in such harsh fashion as a way to convince him pull his film out of Cannes competition, which is what they’ve demanded for a few weeks now.
EARLIER: Last month, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” had been selected for Cannes Competition. However, producers of the film have now been interrogated by Iranian authorities and banned from leaving the country.
Lawyer Babak Paknia confirmed the news on X, stating that the film crew, after “enduring hours of interrogation,” were pressured to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the Cannes line-up.
Some of the production agents of the movie "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" were summoned by the authorities during the last week and this week and were interrogated. Some of the film's actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to ask the director to remove the film from the Cannes Festival.
It is unclear whether Mohammad Rasoulof, who has been banned from leaving Iran since 2017, and has an upcoming case in the Revolutionary Court, can travel to Cannes to attend the premiere of his own film.
The plot of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and its cast, remain under wraps.
Rasoulof won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020 for his anti-capital punishment film “There Is No Evil” He was detained in 2022 for sharing comments denouncing the government crackdown on the nationwide protests. He was temporarily released in 2023 due to health concerns and was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude, as well as a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Last year, Rasoulof was asked to join the Cannes Un Certain Regard jury but could not attend due to these imposed travel restrictions.
As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.