Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof says he is in no rush to set his next project following his Oscar-nominated drama, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. But he may return to his native country sooner rather than later after over a year in exile.
The veteran dissident filmmaker spoke with us this afternoon at the Locarno Film Festival, where he made a surprise appearance to receive a new humanitarian award.
Rasoulof is the first recipient of the Locarno City of Peace Award, created by the City of Locarno in collaboration with the festival. The award was established, the festival said in a statement, to “honor figures from the cultural space who have distinguished themselves in promoting peace, diplomacy, and dialogue among peoples.”
The jury for the first edition of the prize included Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Swiss Confederation; Laura Sadis, member of the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Marco Solari, Honorary President of the Locarno Film Festival; Raphaël Brunschwig, CEO of the Locarno Film Festival; and Nicola Pini, Mayor of the City of Locarno.
Discussing Rasoulof, Locarno head Giona A. Nazzaro described the veteran filmmaker’s work as “one of the highest and most accomplished expressions of a humanism that lucidly takes shape in the form of an exemplary cinematic gesture.”
“Resisiting the temptation to oversimplify the painful contradictions that afflict the relationship between institutions, power, and individuals, Rasoulof has, over the course of his exemplary career, created a body of work that stands as a hymn to human dignity,” Nazzaro said.
Rasoulof screened The Seed of the Sacred Fig on the Piazza Grande at last year’s Locarno Film Festival following a debut bow in Competition at Cannes. At that time, Rasoulof was only months into his exile in Europe after fleeing Iran to avoid a brutal eight-year prison sentence for covert filmmaking. Rasoulof has been living in Berlin, Germany, since then.
“The Iran I left is very different from the Iran today. So much has happened since then,” Rasoulof explained through an interpreter.
Below, the filmmaker speaks to us about his plans to return to Iran, the current legal status of his Seed of the Sacred Fig actors who were unable to leave Iran, and his life in Europe.
Locarno ends August 16.
DEADLINE: Mohammad, it’s been one year since The Seed of the Sacred Fig debuted in Cannes. You went around the world showing the film and went on a lengthy awards campaign. What have you been doing since then?
MOHAMMAD RASOULOF: I feel like a father whose daughter has just gotten married and is wondering how to move on. Right now, I’m writing a script. I also recently worked on a play in Berlin, which toured with actresses from The Seed of the Sacred Fig. I’ve since received numerous job offers, so I’m not worried. I don’t want to rush my next film, especially considering everything that has been happening inside Iran.
DEADLINE: When we spoke back at Cannes in 2024, you’d just fled Iran. But you were resolute in your desire to return to the country. Do you still plan to go back?
RASOULOF: The Iran I left is very different from the Iran today. So much has happened since then. When I left, I had an eight-year prison sentence, which would have stopped me from making films for a long time, so I was very keen on staying in Europe and making films. But the situation is so fast-changing in Iran. Now, my ability to return and work as a filmmaker there may actually happen sooner than I was anticipating. The Iranian parliament has just approved a law that abolishes prison sentences for those who had to leave Iran illegally. So the situation has already improved.
DEADLINE: You’ve been living in Berlin. How has Germany been treating you?
RASOULOF: It’s been exceptional. I’m extremely happy to be in Germany. I feel safe. I have a profound sense of safety, which I did not have in Iran. Berlin is a fascinating city with an exceptional cultural offering, so it’s interesting to live there. But there’s one major problem: When I open a bottle of water to drink, for instance, I immediately think of the people in Iran who don’t have drinking water at the moment. Or when it rains in Berlin, I think of the drought that has been affecting Iran so badly. It’s a strange feeling. You’re living this very comfortable life, but then all of a sudden, your heart is broken.
DEADLINE: What is the status of your Seed of the Sacred Fig actors who were unable to leave Iran? The last piece of news reported in the international press was that they were awaiting sentencing from the Iranian state.
RASOULOF: The actors were sentenced to prison, but the extraordinary lawyers working on the case are trying to convert the prison sentences into an agreement whereby they would be able to pay fines instead of actually going to prison.
DEADLINE: The cases of Iranian filmmakers like yourself and Jafar Panahi have put a contemporary lens on Iranian cinema and its history. What do you hope for the future of Iranian filmmaking?
RASOULOF: There is an amazing group of artists working inside Iran at the moment, who have not yet been discovered by the international world. A number of them are filmmakers working in a very specific way on subjects that do not seem political at first, particularly around daily life in Iran. So I’m very excited for the work to be seen by the world. I’m optimistic.
