Australia’s Sharmill Films has acquired distribution rights to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig from Films Boutique. The feature scooped two awards at Cannes over the weekend.
The distributor will mount a theatrical release for the Iranian film in Australia and New Zealand. No release date has yet been scheduled but it will be submitted to key festivals in the territories ahead of a national release.
Sharmill picked up the rights before it received its world premiere in Cannes on Friday (May 24), after one of the first buyer screenings for the feature.
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig played in Competition at this year’s festival, winning the jury special prize and Fipresci award from the International Federation of Film Critics. It also earned the top score on Screen’s Cannes jury grid of critics.
The story follows Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise.
The cast is led by Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami and Seterah Maleki. It is produced by Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45 in co-production with Arte France Cinéma.
After shooting the feature in secret – for fear of repercussions from Iranian authorities – Rasoulof fled the country after receiving an eight-year prison sentence for his ongoing criticism of the regime.
Films Boutique has previously sold North American rights to Neon while further distribution deals have been closed for Italy, Benelux, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Taiwan and Turkey. Pyramide Films set to distribute in France this autumn.
Melbourne-based arthouse distributor Sharmill Films has previously picked up Cannes award-winners including Triangle Of Sadness, The Square, Force Majeure and Winter Sleep.
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