Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad RASOULOF, an independent Iranian filmmaker, began his cinematic career by
making documentaries and short films.
After completing his second feature film, Iron Island (2005), he encountered increasing
restrictions due to censorship laws in Iran, which severely limited and ultimately banned
the production and screening of his work within the country.
To date, Rasoulof has directed eight feature films, none of which have been screened in
Iran. Nevertheless, his work has received numerous awards at prestigious international
film festivals and gained a wide following abroad.
In March 2010, while directing a film on set, he was arrested and sentenced to six years
in prison — later reduced to one year. He was released on bail and continued his
filmmaking despite ongoing legal restrictions.
In 2011, he completed Goodbye, which won the Best Director award in the Un Certain
Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2013, his film Manuscripts Don’t Burn won the FIPRESCI Prize in the same section,
and in 2017, A Man of Integrity received the main prize in Un Certain Regard.
Upon returning to Iran in September 2017, Rasoulof was officially banned from leaving
the country. Since then, he has faced constant pressure from security agencies and
various forms of repression, including imprisonment.
Despite this, he continued to make films covertly inside Iran.
In 2020, he completed There Is No Evil, which was awarded the Golden Bear for Best
Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2024, following the secret production of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and facing
multiple legal sentences — including eight years in prison, flogging, a fine, and asset
confiscation — he was forced to leave Iran clandestinely.
The film was successfully released worldwide, received the Special Jury Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival, and was also nominated for major international awards including
the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and the European Film Awards.
Filmography
Gagooman/The Twilight (2002), Jazireh ahani/Iron Island (2005), Keshtzar haye sepid/The White Meadows (2009), Bé omid é didar/Goodbye (2011), Dast-Neveshtehaa Nemisoosand/Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013), Lerd/A Man of Integrity (2017), Sheytan vojud nadarad/There Is No Evil (2020), Daane-ye Anjir-e Ma’abed/The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024), Jens-e Aab/Sense of Water (2026, short)
More info: Wikipedia, Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof at IFFR
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Sense of Water
Mohammad Rasoulof | 37' | Iran | World premiere
In the chill of exile, an Iranian writer confronts a foreign language. -
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof | 168' | Germany | Dutch Premiere
Now-exiled Iranian writer-director Rasoulof interweaves political activism with family drama. Winner of Cannes Prix Spécial. -
Manuscripts Don’t Burn
Mohammad Rasoulof | 127' | Iran | None
Two government officials are on a mission to arrest a rebellious writer in this furious indictment of corrupt and murderous acts, in the form of… -
The White Meadows
Mohammad Rasoulof | 92' | Iran | None
Last December, Mohammad Rasoulof and his fellow filmmaker Jafar Panahi were sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to six years imprisonment. They were al -
Gesher
Vahid Vakilifar | 84' | Iran | None
Film debut from the tradition of semi-documentary filmmaking in Iran, looking at three emigrant workers and their everyday hardship to earn money. It -
A Man of Integrity
Mohammad Rasoulof | 117' | Iran | None
A respectable family man, Reza, loses his money, his car and his source of income. What are you left with and what next? In his… -
