The film festival will open with the screening of the film by the Iranian director Mohammad Rasulof

The 40th International Film Festival Haifa Havm Sukkot 15/10-26/10/24 will open with the screening of the new and talked about film of the Iranian director Mohammad Rasulof.

"The Seed of the Sacred Fig" Winner of the Special Jury Prize and the Critic's Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival

"The Holy Fig Seed", the new film of the celebrated Iranian director Mohammad Rasulof is a social and political family drama, in the package of a breathtaking thriller. The film harshly criticizes the Iranian regime and stands by the women's protest in a moving and meaningful cinematic way. Since 2010, Roy Rasuloff has been in a constant struggle against the extreme Islamist regime ruling Iran and he has found ways to make films, which have become more and more critical of the government in Tehran over the years.

Because of this, after the Cannes Film Festival announced its participation in the official competition this year, Iran made efforts to prevent the screening of the film. Rasuloff was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging, ordered to pay fines, and his assets were confiscated. On top of that, all members of the production team were summoned to investigations during which they were put under pressure to convince Rasoloff to withdraw his film from the festival. Despite all this, Rasuloff and some of his team members managed to escape from Iran. They crept into the country's borders, secretly crossed the border, and fled to Germany as refugees.

That's how Rasoloff managed to get to the film's premiere in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, along with three of the film's actresses. He continued to express his political criticism also on the red carpet, where he waved the pictures of the actress and the actor in the main roles: Sohaila Golstani and Misag Zara, the two were arrested in Iran near the premiere in Cannes and there was fear for their fate. He thanked the audience in Persian and expressed hope for a better future in Iran.

In interviews that Nathan said:

I kept thinking, well, if I get arrested while making the movie, I'll spend at least five years in prison. And I knew that this film would lead to other accusations against me.

He said he "relied on the slow pace of the judicial administration" to finish the project, and contacted his colleagues abroad to make sure they could get the film to the finish line in the event of his arrest.

"The spirit of political protest that rages in the streets of the city seeps into his house as well"

In his home, Iman is a patriarchal husband and father in every sense of the word. Outside, he is an investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. He has just been promoted, and his wife and two daughters are receiving precise instructions about what is required of them in light of his new and important role. But the spirit of political protest that rages in the streets of the city seeps into Iman's house as well, and when his gun disappears, he takes extreme measures that only add to the growing tension in the house, until all the family members reach the edge - and beyond. The film won the Special Jury Prize and the Critic's Prize at the last Cannes Film Festival

• Iran|France|Germany 2024
• 167 minutes
• Directed by: Mohammad Rasulof
• Acting: Misag Zara, Sohaila Golstani, Mehsa Rostami, Sara Maleki
• The film will be screened courtesy of "New Cinema"
• Filmography: There Is No Evil (2020), A Man of Integrity (2017), Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013)

The Haifa International Film Festival is held with the support of the Israel Film Council - the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Cooperation and the Municipality of Haifa. The festival is produced by Atos - the Society for Arts, Culture and Sports Haifa.