French-German-Iranian production The Seed of the Sacred Fig, directed by exiled filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, has clinched the top prize for Best Film at the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films. The accolade was unveiled at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, where Rasoulof’s drama was selected from a pool of 22 European productions.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it was honored with a special jury prize. Additionally, it has been nominated as Germany’s official submission for the 2025 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category. Rasoulof, who clandestinely fled Iran just two weeks prior to the film’s premiere on the Croisette, did so after being sentenced to eight years in prison for opposing the oppressive theocratic regime. His perilous escape led him to Germany, where he completed the film’s final edit. Upon his appearance at Cannes, the director was met with an overwhelming, extended standing ovation at the Grand Theatre Lumière, lasting over 15 minutes.
Set against the backdrop of the 2022 protests ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death, the film focuses on a conservative family of four that disintegrates amid the Women Life Freedom protests. It evolves from a claustrophobic domestic drama into a horror-tinged psychodrama, exposing the theocracy in Iran as a regime built on violence and paranoia. The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films, established in 2019 by European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), aims to foster film diversity across Europe and enhance industry interest in the Arab region for exceptional European films. Previous winners include Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (2023), Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO (2022), Péter Kerekes’ 107 Mothers (2021), Christian Petzold’s Undine (2020), and Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya (2019).
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