I don’t think I’ve left my restrictions behind, says Mohammad Rasoulof

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been one of the leading newsmakers this year with his 28-day flight to freedom from his country hitting the headlines the world over. He escaped to Germany in May after being sentenced in Iran to eight years in prison, flogging, fine and confiscation of property following the selection of his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Set in the backdrop of the countrywide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests of 2022 against the compulsory hijab and following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, the film is about an investigating judge Iman, locking horns with his wife Najmeh and two daughters, Rezvan and Sana as the political consciousness enters the familial space. The film is German in terms of its production and financial investment and now me and its three actresses - Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki and Niousha Akhshi - are living in exile in Germany.