How a dissident Iranian director made a film in secret and then fled the country
While working on his most recent film, the suspenseful political thriller The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof received the news that he had been condemned to eight years in prison. Rasoulof, a fervent opponent of Iran's theocratic government, had to decide whether to attempt to leave the nation or risk harsh punishment.
I wouldn't only lose this extremely productive and active time for making movies. In a Zoom interview from New York, Rasoulof stated through an interpreter, "I would also be changed into someone who has to play the role of the sacrificed artist, the victim of censorship."
He didn't want to play that part.
After a perilous voyage, Rasoulof fled Iran covertly on foot and sought safety in Germany. Far from a government that threatened to imprison h...