This film is being presented as part of the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library's Wednesday Movie Club, a weekly showcase of movies that matter for people who love movies.  Attendees will be invited to discuss the film immediately following the screening. Registration is not required. 

As Wednesday Movie Club regulars know, movies can matter for a wide range of reasons: They can show us the world from someone else's perspective or introduce us to places we could never go on our own. They can also change the art of filmmaking or just make us laugh when times get hard. This film tells a true story, and the film itself escaped censorship and violence to be shared with the world.   

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG tells the story of an Iranian family that gets thrust into the public eye when its patriarch, Iman, is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran.  As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife and daughters. The film's fictional narrative is combined with real images of the 2022–2023 protests that were violently suppressed by Iranian authorities.  This political thriller was filmed in secret and smuggled out of the country, but ahead of its premiere, director Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to a public flogging and eight years in prison, which ultimately forced him to flee Iran on foot with nothing but the clothes on his back.  Yet, despite the Iranian government's best efforts, THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG premiered to a 12-minute standing ovation at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and earned an Oscar nomination for "Best International Feature Film."       

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2h 36m
Production Year: 2024
Cast: Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami, Niusha Akhshi
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Language: Persian (English subtitles)