Culture news This director on the run fled his country to present his film at the Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes is the Croisette, the red carpet and the steps, the stars and the feature films. But it’s also a time when artists get their messages across. This year, one of the strongest moments was undoubtedly the presence of this director, who fled his own country to be able to present his film.
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Convicted, he leaves his country to present his film in Cannes
These last ten days have taken place the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, one of the major competitions for the film industry. This year's jury was chaired by Greta Gerwing, assisted by Ebry Ceylan, Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Nadine Labaki, Juan Antonio Bayonna, Kore-eda Hirozaku, Pierfrancesco Favino and Omar Sy. Together, they awarded honorary Palmes to Ghibli and George Lucas, but also the Palme d’Or to Anora by Sean Bakerthe Grand Prize to All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia, or the Jury Prize to Emilia Prérez by Jacques Audiard.
Many stars, directors, journalists, photographers and the public followed this new edition, marked by the presence of Mohammad Rassoulof, director of The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Seeds of the wild fig tree). Awarded the Special Jury Prizethe Iranian director caused a sensation with his simple presence.
Sentenced to eight years in prison, five years for “collusion against national security“in Iran, he illegally crossed the mountains and the Iranian border to come himself to present his film in the south of France. The latter immerses us in a Tehran driven by political and social unrest. When the investigating judge Iman discovers that his gun is missing, he suspects his wife and daughtersimposing draconian measures that strain family ties.
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A highly political film and a poignant speech
A film considered powerful which speaks of freedom and women, by a director whose work is massively rejected in Iran because they would form a “propaganda against the regime“. During his speech, he wanted to put words to this situation. If he said he was very happy to have presented his film at Cannes and to be awarded an award, he wanted to pay tribute to a whole part of his teams , who would be held in Iran and put under pressure by the secret services of the Islamic Republic. He added :
But I am also very sad, deeply grieved by the catastrophe that my people experience on a daily basis. (…) I can simply tell you that my people, the Iranian people, are taken hostage by this regime of the Islamic Republic. I would like here again to salute and thank all the people who made this film possible and all these young women whose courage and boundless audacity was the inspiration for this film.
Wild Fig Seeds very directly evokes the Women, Life, Freedom movement, Kurdish political slogan taken up across Iran during the protests that took place in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and against the government in place.