Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof says he’s in no rush to set his subsequent venture following his Oscar-nominated drama, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. However he could return to his native nation sooner reasonably than later after over a 12 months in exile.
The veteran dissident filmmaker spoke with us this afternoon on the Locarno Movie Competition, the place he made a shock look to obtain a brand new humanitarian award.
Rasoulof is the primary recipient of the Locarno Metropolis of Peace Award, created by the Metropolis of Locarno in collaboration with the pageant. The award was established, the pageant mentioned in an announcement, to “honor figures from the cultural house who’ve distinguished themselves in selling peace, diplomacy, and dialogue amongst peoples.”
The jury for the primary version of the prize included Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Swiss Confederation; Laura Sadis, member of the Meeting of the Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross (ICRC); Marco Solari, Honorary President of the Locarno Movie Competition; Raphaël Brunschwig, CEO of the Locarno Movie Competition; and Nicola Pini, Mayor of the Metropolis of Locarno.
Discussing Rasoulof, Locarno head Giona A. Nazzaro described the veteran filmmaker’s work as “one of many highest and most completed expressions of a humanism that lucidly takes form within the type of an exemplary cinematic gesture.”
“Resisiting the temptation to oversimplify the painful contradictions that afflict the connection between establishments, energy, and people, Rasoulof has, over the course of his exemplary profession, created a physique of labor that stands as a hymn to human dignity,” Nazzaro mentioned.
Rasoulof screened The Seed of the Sacred Fig on the Piazza Grande finally 12 months’s Locarno Movie Competition following a debut bow in Competitors at Cannes. At the moment, Rasoulof was solely months into his exile in Europe after fleeing Iran to keep away from a brutal eight-year jail sentence for covert filmmaking. Rasoulof has been dwelling in Berlin, Germany, since then.
“The Iran I left may be very totally different from the Iran at present. A lot has occurred since then,” Rasoulof defined by way of an interpreter.
Under, the filmmaker speaks to us about his plans to return to Iran, the present authorized standing of his Seed of the Sacred Fig actors who had been unable to depart Iran, and his life in Europe.
Locarno ends August 16.
DEADLINE: Mohammad, it’s been one 12 months since The Seed of the Sacred Fig debuted in Cannes. You went around the globe displaying the movie and went on a prolonged awards marketing campaign. What have you ever been doing since then?
MOHAMMAD RASOULOF: I really feel like a father whose daughter has simply gotten married and is questioning how you can transfer on. Proper now, I’m writing a script. I additionally lately labored on a play in Berlin, which toured with actresses from The Seed of the Sacred Fig. I’ve since obtained quite a few job gives, so I’m not frightened. I don’t need to rush my subsequent movie, particularly contemplating the whole lot that has been occurring inside Iran.
DEADLINE: Once we spoke again at Cannes in 2024, you’d simply fled Iran. However you had been resolute in your need to return to the nation. Do you continue to plan to return?
RASOULOF: The Iran I left may be very totally different from the Iran at present. A lot has occurred since then. Once I left, I had an eight-year jail sentence, which might have stopped me from making movies for a very long time, so I used to be very eager on staying in Europe and making movies. However the scenario is so fast-changing in Iran. Now, my capability to return and work as a filmmaker there may very well occur before I used to be anticipating. The Iranian parliament has simply accredited a legislation that abolishes jail sentences for individuals who needed to go away Iran illegally. So the scenario has already improved.
DEADLINE: You’ve been dwelling in Berlin. How has Germany been treating you?
RASOULOF: It’s been distinctive. I’m extraordinarily glad to be in Germany. I really feel protected. I’ve a profound sense of security, which I didn’t have in Iran. Berlin is a captivating metropolis with an distinctive cultural providing, so it’s attention-grabbing to stay there. However there’s one main drawback: Once I open a bottle of water to drink, as an example, I instantly consider the folks in Iran who don’t have consuming water in the intervening time. Or when it rains in Berlin, I consider the drought that has been affecting Iran so badly. It’s an odd feeling. You’re dwelling this very snug life, however then abruptly, your coronary heart is damaged.
DEADLINE: What’s the standing of your Seed of the Sacred Fig actors who had been unable to depart Iran? The final piece of stories reported within the worldwide press was that they had been awaiting sentencing from the Iranian state.
RASOULOF: The actors had been sentenced to jail, however the extraordinary legal professionals engaged on the case are attempting to transform the jail sentences into an settlement whereby they might have the ability to pay fines as a substitute of really going to jail.
DEADLINE: The instances of Iranian filmmakers like your self and Jafar Panahi have put a recent lens on Iranian cinema and its historical past. What do you hope for the way forward for Iranian filmmaking?
RASOULOF: There may be an incredible group of artists working inside Iran in the intervening time, who haven’t but been found by the worldwide world. Various them are filmmakers working in a really particular method on topics that don’t appear political at first, significantly round day by day life in Iran. So I’m very excited for the work to be seen by the world. I’m optimistic.
