Master filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has made many films (and VTIFF has shown a number of them), but none has caused quite the stir of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which earned him an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities. Rasoulof was able to leave Iran before his arrest, and now lives in exile in Europe. A story like that can tend to overshadow a film, which would be a shame, because The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a strong entry in the Rasoulof catalog. Shot entirely in secret, it tells the story of an investigating judge during a period of turmoil in Iran, who succumbs to paranoia when his gun goes missing, leading him to enact draconian measures against his own family. In The New Yorker, Justin Chang called it, “a thriller of propulsive skill and blunt emotional force, marrying the muscularity of an action film to the psychological intensity of a chamber drama.” As always, VTIFF is thrilled to present another film by this bold, fearless filmmaker. ~SM