Mohammad Rasoulof, the indomitable Iranian filmmaker who has “things to do before going back to prison”

Interview Applauded at the last Cannes Film Festival for “Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree,” Mohammad Rasoulof fled the Islamic Republic after years of resistance and prison. But he intends to return.

Many of us at the last Cannes Film Festival predicted a Palme d’Or for “Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree” by Mohammad Rasoulof, who came to present the film on the Croisette after having clandestinely fled Iran. However, the jury, chaired by American actress-director Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), awarded him a special jury prize that looked like a consolatory rattle. Complaining about it would not occur to the filmmaker. He preferred to take advantage of his platform on stage to support the members of his team held in the country and to call for mobilization against the death sentence of rapper Toomaj Salehi (sentence since overturned).

A suspenseful dive into the home of an investigator from the Islamic Republic, whose two young daughters are won over by the Women, Life, Freedom movement, “The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree” is a relentless indictment of the mullahs’ system seen from the inside of a loving family on the verge of implosion. In other words, a feature film that would be impossible to shoot on location, except when your name is Mohammad Rasoulof. “A man of integrity,” to quote…