Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (There Is No Evil) delivers a confronting drama that speaks to the dividing lines in Iranian society.

Iman (Missagh Zareh) is a judge who sees the benefits for his family in his career’s rapid advancement. His student daughters (Setareh Malek and Mahsa Rostami) are suspicious of his increasing collaboration with the regime. He is warned not to confide in his wife (played by actor and anti-hijab protester Soheila Golestani) as he is encouraged to wave through death sentences without considering the evidence.

Iman’s divided loyalties are exposed when his government-issued handgun goes missing, and suspicion falls on the women in his home. What follows is a supremely dramatic wave of edge-of-the-seat revelations that mixes the domestic with the political realities of life in Iran, including footage of real-life protests.

Shot in secret and debuting at Cannes following Rasoulof fleeing Iran in fears for his safety, The Seed of the Sacred Fig lead many critics’ picks for best of the festival and is heading towards Academy Award nomination as the shortlisted German entry for Best International Feature Film following the same nomination at the Golden Globes.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a political thriller, a horror movie, and an ode to that unrepentance. The boldness of Iranian girls and women is its inspiration and its essence.” – Roxana Hadadi, Vulture