Oscars: Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘Seed of the Sacred Fig’ Submitted by Germany

Germany has submitted Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which screened at Cannes, for its Oscar entry in the Best International Feature race.

We already knew the film wouldn’t be Iran’s selection, Rasoulof escaped that country after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging. He is currently staying in Berlin. Given that ‘Sacred Fig’ was backed by German and French money, this selection complies with Academy rules.

Let’s not pull any punches here. The reason why Rasoulof was sentenced by the Iranian regime was pure and simply for making films and documentaries. In the court’s opinion, these actions were examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security.

The German submission means that we now have one hell of an Oscar race for Best International Feature. Rasoulof’s film stands a very good chance at being one of the five nominees.

As it stands, the main contenders seem to be Rasoulof’s “The Sacred Seed of the Fig,” Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez,” Magnus von Horn’s “The Girl With the Needle,” Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour.”

I would imagine Venice will be shaking up the race with its own competition entries, they include buzzy titles like Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” Dea Kulumbegashvili’s “April,” Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Harvest,” Luis Ortega’s “Kill the Jockey,” and Yeo Siew Hua’s “Stranger Eyes.”

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is getting U.S. theatrical release, via Neon, on November 27.