"There is always hope"

02.10.2024 | Interview with Mohammad Rasoulof

Director Mohammad Rasoulof managed to escape from Iran shortly before the world premiere of "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" in Cannes. He now lives with his family in Hamburg. The drama celebrated its German premiere here at the film festival. It tells the story of how an entire family becomes victims of the regime - one in rebellion, the other in loyalty to the state. The drama, parts of which were filmed in Hamburg, will be in the Oscar race for Germany next year.

Interview: Britta Schmeis

Mohammad Rasoulof, what prompted you to make this film “The Seeds of the Sacred Fig Tree”?: When the "Women, Life, Freedom" revolution began in Iran in 2022 after the arrest of Jina Mahsa Amini and her death in custody, I had already been in prison for months. I wondered how people who work in the system of oppression think, what kind of personality they have. And how it is that they think so differently from me.

What inspired you to write the story about the father and public prosecutor who suddenly puts the regime above the well-being and happiness of his family?: At one point, state employees were with us in prison. One of them broke away from the group, came up to me and said: "I hate what I'm doing. Every day when I go to prison for my job, I wonder when I'm going to hang myself from which post." He also said that his family and children asked him critical questions every day and condemned him for what he was doing. For me, that was the inspiration for the film about a man who is no longer able to separate his work for a totalitarian state from his love and care for his family.

Mohammad Rasoulof © Films Boutique / Alamode Film

What is the central theme of the film for you?: The film is about obedience and people who work in an ideological environment, like the father, who loses his own moral values as a result. In the course of the film, he becomes a symbol of patriarchy. The family then becomes a metaphor for the relationship between civil society, the resistance and the regime.

The focus is on the roles of the women, i.e. his daughters and his wife. They rebel, but the wife less so than the daughters.: Yes, that is typical of Iranian mothers, who have to ensure that the balance in the family is maintained. The most important thing for them is to keep the family together. In the film character, this has less to do with her and her own ideas and more to do with the expectations of society. At the same time, she has hardly any relationship with the outside world. She gets all her information from the television news, which is controlled by the regime. She is virtually imprisoned in her flat. At least in the beginning, she lets the official reports and thus the regime have power over her thoughts. This is very common in Iran.

The title is also a metaphor. What is it all about?: Seven years ago, I discovered this fig tree on an island in the south of Iran. I was fascinated by its life cycle. The fruit is eaten by birds and the seeds are carried on in their droppings. The seed then seeks out another tree as a host, wraps itself around it and eventually strangles, i.e. kills, it.

What does this image represent?: For me, it is a metaphor that is very open and therefore also allows for many interpretations, for example that the system also prepares the ground for resistance, just as the tree becomes a breeding ground for the fig. But I don't want to say too much about that, perhaps just that no matter when in life, you can find hope at some point. And that out of something bad or not so beautiful, like faeces, something beautiful and good can emerge again in the end, like the fig tree.

You shot the film in secret because you were already banned from your profession and were threatened with eight years in prison and lashes. How can one imagine such a shoot?: We shot a lot of the film indoors, so we weren't out in public. In the scenes that were shot on the street, our actresses wore headscarves. That's also part of the story. We were even insulted by critics of the regime during outdoor shoots because they thought we were making a propaganda film. I myself was never directly involved in these recordings, but always at a distance. For example, I sat in a car a few streets away, otherwise it would have been far too dangerous for me. In Iran, it's always about not attracting attention.

The film was also made in collaboration with partners in Hamburg. What did this collaboration look like in concrete terms?: I have a very long and personal relationship with Hamburg. My family, my great Executive Producers Mani Tilgner and Rozita Hendijanian and many of my close friends live here. Editor Andrew Bird from Hamburg was responsible for the editing, and post production also took place in Hamburg. Filming and editing often took place simultaneously. The MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein supported the film like others before it. We were all in constant contact, even when I wasn't on location. It was a very professional and trusting collaboration. Hamburg has now become my home.