Desk Report,
Rasulof saw a picture of himself in jail with his fans and guards
Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison by Iran for criticizing the government in a film. At that time, Rasoulof met some fans in prison. The fans requested that they watch the film ‘There Is No Evil’ with Rasoulof. The director recently shared that experience with everyone at the Gothenburg Film Festival. Rasoulof’s new film ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ is being screened at the festival. The film has also been nominated for an Oscar. The director appeared at the screening of this film at the Gothenburg Festival and spoke about the dictatorship in his country, Iran, and various other topics.
Rasulof saw a picture of himself in jail with his fans and guards
Recalling his time in prison, Rasoulof said that while lying on the bed in prison, various thoughts would come to his mind. One day, the prison guard himself came and said, ‘You have made a great film, congratulations to you.’ The prison guard later said that he wanted to watch his film with Rasoulof! Rasoulof realized that the prison guard was not just talking, but had also made all the plans to watch the film together. His physical condition was not good at that time, he needed surgery. An eight-year sentence on his head, threats from the government. Amidst all this, wouldn’t showing a movie in prison bring new dangers?
The movie ‘There Is No Evil’, which is made up of four stories, criticizes the Iranian government and talks about the country’s independent-minded people. The first part is based on the life story of an assassin who executed people who spoke out against the Iranian government. The name of the movie is ‘There Is No Evil’ after that episode.
The fans of the prison are unwavering. They keep looking for different ways to watch the movie in prison. How to watch the movie in prison is also a question. What happened next, let’s hear it from Rasulof’s own words, ‘One day I saw one of the guards bring a copy of the movie in a USB port. There was a kind of madness among them, the desire to sit and watch it with the producer and what not. They made sure that no one would find out about it. Later, at midnight, we watched the movie together.’ Rasoulof won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020 for the film ‘There Is No Evil’. When protests broke out in Iran in 2022, the director spoke out on social media for ordinary people. He was arrested on charges of inciting the movement. He was released in September of that year. He continued to gather information about the government’s activities. Rasoulof saw firsthand how the country’s government shot and tortured ordinary people to stop the movement. The internet was shut down. This news was not broadcast anywhere in the country, including state television. Instead, at that time, Iranian state media began broadcasting various programs including healthy living rules and agricultural development. The director has made a new film, ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig,’ about the emotional conflict between a man who works in an important position for the Iranian government and his two daughters. The girls want to participate in the protests, but their government official father becomes an obstacle. The father once assumed a dictatorial role in the family. Last year, ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
The director is back in the news again. The Iranian government has been pressuring people involved in the film industry, including the director, to withdraw the film from Cannes. But Rasoulof did not agree. At one point, Rasoulof was forced to flee the country. This exiled director surprised everyone by appearing at the Cannes Festival. Rasoulof is currently living in Germany after fleeing Iran. Germany has sent ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’, which was nominated for the Best International Film category, to the Oscars.
Information: Variety, IMDb, The Screen Daily
