Film Forum will present the US theatrical opening of NEON’s THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG from writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof, beginning Wednesday, November 27.

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, a longtime critic of the regime (THERE IS NO EVIL, MANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN), shot the tense thriller THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG clandestinely — fleeing his home-country after receiving an 8-year prison sentence.

When Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran, he and his wife, Najmeh, are excited for their elevated social status.  But as political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife and daughters Rezvan and Sana. Not only a lacerating critique of a patriarchal regime crumbling from within, but “a thriller of propulsive skill and blunt emotional force, marrying the muscularity of an action film to the psychological intensity of a chamber drama.” —Justin Chang, The New Yorker

The Seed of the Sacred Fig stars Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghi, Shiva Ordooei and Amineh Arani.

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Award, and it was an official selection at the Locarno, Telluride, Toronto, New York Film Festivals, and more. It is Germany’s official submission to the 96th Academy Awards®.