The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that 15 films have now been shortlisted for the 2024 Oscar race for Best International Feature Film.
Among them is Germany, which presents Mohammed Rasoulof’s latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
The work was inspired by the massive protests in Iran in 2022 that were sparked by the murder of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, by the so-called morality police. Rasoulof listened to the demonstrations from his prison cell when he came up with the idea for a thriller exploring state violence, paranoia and censorship.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” follows Iman, an investigator for Iran’s Revolutionary Court who is loyal to the regime, but begins to question the arbitrary and summary nature of the death warrants she is signed. Has been asked to do.
At home, his wife and young daughters were caught up in the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests that began after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Amini was detained for allegedly not wearing hijab properly and was allegedly beaten by the police.
escape from iran on foot
After shooting the feature in secret – the Iranian regime banned the director from filmmaking in 2017 – Rasoulof had to abandon production and flee the country on foot across the border. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging for his criticism of the regime, including its aggressive response to pro-democracy protests.
After leaving Iran, Rasoulof was able to apply for asylum in Germany; He lived in the country a few years ago. His passport was confiscated in Iran before his flight, but his information was already in the possession of German authorities.
The director chose Germany in part because “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was being edited in Hamburg by Andrew Bird, who works with award-winning German-Turkish director Fatih Akin.
Yet, when his film “There Is No Evil” won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020, Rasuloff was unable to visit the country. That film was about the death penalty in Iran, and he made it while he was on death row. A further prison sentence is to be confirmed.
a dissident in exile
Rasoulof was awarded the Special Jury Prize for “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” at the Cannes Film Festival in May, shortly after fleeing Iran and completing the film abroad. The film also won the film industry’s Fipresci Award, which was presented during the festival.
“It was very clear to me that what matters most now is making films and telling our stories,” Rasoulof said at Cannes.
“I had more stories to tell, and no one was going to stop me from telling them.”
Why an Iranian film representing Germany at the Oscars?
Munich-based German Films is a cinema marketing company that appoints the independent jury responsible for selecting the country’s Oscar entries. This year’s jury selected “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from 13 films.
The fact that “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was produced by Hamburg-based Runway Pictures, which received funding from the North German Film Board and a German distributor, made it eligible for selection.
The jury called Rasoulof’s latest cinematic triumph “an outstanding work by one of the great directors of world cinema.”
The jury statement further said, “We are very pleased to learn that Rasulof is safe in our country.” “And we are delighted that he will represent Germany at the Oscars in 2025.”
The director and his producers said in a statement that the selection “shows how powerful intercultural exchange can be in a free and open society.”
In the past, the German jury has chosen local stories and productions. These include “The Tin Drum” (1979) by Volker Schlöndorff, “The Lives of Others” (2006) by Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck, and “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022) by Edward Berger. Which won the Academy Award for International Film.
From the 15 shortlisted films announced on December 17, the five finalists nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film will be announced on January 17, and the winners will be presented in March 2025.
This article was updated on December 18, 2024, to reflect the latest shortlist for the Oscars.
Edited by: Christina Barak
