'I fled Iran because I have more stories to tell'

RANIAN filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been one of the leading newsmakers this year with his 28-day flight to freedom from his home country hitting the headlines the world over.

- NAMRATA JOSHI

He escaped to Germany in May after being sentenced in Iran to eight years in prison, flogging, fine and confiscation of property following the selection of his latest film The Seed of the Sacred Fig in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. He attended the film's premiere at Cannes, where it also won the Jury prize and the Fipresci award.

Set in the backdrop of the countrywide "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests of 2022 against the compulsory hijab and following the death of Mahsa Amini, the film is about an investigating judge Iman (Missagh Zareh), locking horns with his wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and two daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) as the political consciousness enters the familial space. It is Germany's entry to the Oscars this year.

Rasoulof has himself crossed swords with the Iranian government—has been arrested, his passport seized and faced a ban for travelling abroad—several times due to the themes and content of his films. His last film, There Is No Evil was awarded the Golden Bear in Berlinale in 2020 though he himself could not be present at the festival. The maker of such celebrated works like Goodbye, Manuscripts Don't Burn and A Man of Integrity, Rasoulof is currently living in exile in Germany. He was at the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival for a special conversations programme, where he took time out to speak to the members of the international press.

Excerpts:
■ The Seed of the Sacred Fig is Germany's entry to the Oscars. Is cinema becoming more fluid in terms of its nationality?