Renowned Iranian director and dissident, Mohammad Rasoulof has recently shed light on the circumstances surrounding the nomination of his movie “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” as Germany’s Oscar entry, superseding any potential selection from his home country, Iran.
At the Busan International Film Festival, where he currently presides over the New Currents competition jury, Rasoulof revealed that he fled to Europe back in May, following being sentenced to jail and flogging by the Iranian authorities. His critically-acclaimed film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which narrates the story of a judicial investigator stationed at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, grappling with escalating anti-government protests and a crumbling personal life, bagged a prize at Cannes.
“There is immense complexity involved in my situation,” explained Rasoulof at the New Currents jury press conference held in Busan. “My movie was drawn back by the Iranian Government, and I was sentenced to a prison term of eight long years,” he relayed. Most of Rasoulof’s film producers are based in Germany, where he subsequently relocated to. The filmmaker acknowledged Germany’s support and deep understanding of the film’s vision which compelled them to accept it.
Future Intentions And Upcoming Projects
Rasoulof is optimistic and excited about his future projects. He aims to continue making films “under any circumstances and anywhere in the world,” he stated. His upcoming ventures will revolve around “his and European culture,” and he is always contemplating new engaging stories and projects.
Iranian representatives decided to submit the family drama “In the Arms of the Tree” as their official entrant to the Oscars.
Fellow Jurists
On the jury panel for the New Currents competition along with Rasoulof is South Korean movie maker Lee Myung-se, Chinese thespian Zhou Dongyu, Indian actor Kani Kusruti, and Vanja Kaludjercic, who heads the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Revival Of Contemporary Independent Indian Cinema
Discussing the revival in contemporary independent Indian cinema, Kusruti, who starred in the award-winning films “Girls Will be Girls” and “All We Imagine as Light,” expressed that, “there is a substantial focus on fine-tuning the craft of acting, cinematography, and script dialogue, while keeping diversity intact.”
Diversity In Indian Cinema
Adding to Kusruti’s remarks, Kaludjercic pointed out, “We find versatility not only in the languages and cultures, but also very different approaches to cinema and cinematic language from every region of India. Hence, it’s almost like when we look at 1,000s of films for our own selections in Rotterdam, the language of cinema that surprises us most nowadays comes from India.”
Credit: variety.com
