The Seed of the Sacred Fig

I was moved to tears by this brilliant film. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a blistering critique of Iran's theocratic regime. The film focuses on one family torn apart by the moral ambivalence of the father and the political awakening of his teenage daughters.

The Woman, Life, Freedom protests which followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022 are brutally suppressed and witnessed by the daughters. The father, meanwhile, is promoted to the role of investigator in the Revolutionary Court and expected to sign off on death warrants without any supporting evidence.

Trapped in the middle is the wife and mother, Najmeh, played by Soheila Golestani, who is torn between the potential benefits of her husband's promotion and the turmoil on the streets.

I am in awe of ordinary people's courage which is a theme in both my books, No Going Back and After. The cast and crew all showed tremendous courage in making this film which had to be shot in secret with two scripts - the officially approved version in case anyone approached them and the true script we can now see in cinemas.

The film's director, Mohammad Rasoulof and other main actors managed to flee Iran, but Soheila Golestani who was undergoing emergency surgery on her knee was left behind.

She now faces charges of "spreading corruption on earth and propaganda against the regime". She has been stopped from working, cannot leave Iran, and faces the threat of a year in prison and 74 lashes.

This is not the first time Golestani has stood up for her beliefs. She spent time in the country's notorious Evin prison after posting a video in solidarity with the street protests. The silent video shows her and other actresses, all dressed in black, remove their hijabs, which are compulsory in Iran, and stare defiantly into the camera.

Golestani says she has no regrets about making the film.

"What the regime does to me is the least important thing, whether it's a violent reaction or silence, as if to say the film is not important. The really important thing is we will not go back to the past."

Film has become an important part of the resistance movement in Iran. Please go to see this film if only to support these brave men and women.