Iranian director's daring escape and Oscar hopes for Germany

- There's always time to go back and go to prison - said director Mohammad Rasoulof in one of his interviews. He escaped from Iran to Germany. Now, his film has a chance to compete for an Oscar on behalf of Germany.

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof found refuge in Germany after a dramatic escape from Iran. He is under a draconian penalty—flogging and imprisonment—imposed on him by the Iranian regime. Now his latest work, "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," has been selected by Germany as their submission for the Oscars in the "Best International Feature Film" category.

"The Seed of the Sacred Fig" is a political thriller inspired by the pro-democracy protests "Woman, Life, Freedom," which shook Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022. The main character, Iman, played by Misagh Zareh, is a devout man appointed as an investigative judge in a politicized court in Tehran. The film depicts the dilemmas and consequences Iman faces as the state imposes increasingly harsh measures against protesters, and his family also gets caught up in the whirlwind of events.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize and other prestigious awards. Since then, it has won at other festivals and now has a chance to compete for the Oscars.

The Iranian production could still make headlines. Rasoulof described his escape from Iran in an interview with the "Guardian": - It was a several-hour long, exhausting and extremely dangerous walk that I had to do with a guide – author's note] for quite a long time before they could move me to a town and then to a place where I could contact German authorities.

– I wrote many projects when I was in prison, and I’ve always felt that if I go to prison for years, I won’t have the strength or the ability to make these films. So first I have to make them, and then after, it’s always time to go back and to go to prison – he explained his motivations.

It's worth noting that the problems of Iranian directors with the authorities have been discussed for years. In 2019, Rasoulof received a ban from the regime, preventing him from leaving the country and effectively making him a prisoner in his own homeland.