The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Persian: دانه‌ی انجیر معابد, romanized: Dāne-ye anjīr-e ma'ābed) is a 2024 political drama film written, co-produced and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.

Its plot centers on Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with paranoia as nationwide political protests due to the death of a young woman intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears, making him distrust his wife and daughters.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig had its premiere on 24 May 2024 at the main competition of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or, winning the Special Jury Prize.

[5] After successfully fleeing to Germany, Rasoulof and other cast and crew members attended the Cannes' red carpet premiere.

As the nationwide political protests against the authoritarian government unfold, Iman discovers that he was not hired to use his legal expertise to investigate cases.

He is expected to approve judgments presented to him by his superiors without assessing the evidence, including death sentences, and he learns his predecessor was fired for refusing.

The government issues Iman a handgun for his family's protection, but he is woefully unprepared to handle the gun and fails to properly store it in a secure compartment in the house.

When Sadaf, a good friend of Rezvan's, is shot in the face on the street during a demonstration against compulsory hijab, Najmeh and her daughters provide first aid in their apartment.

The film ends with footage captured on mobile phones depicting women proudly protesting on the streets of Tehran.

In the past, director Mohammad Rasoulof had repeatedly violated Iranian censorship regulations with his films and was given three prison sentences as well as bans on working and leaving the country.

"[9] Following the Cannes selection announcement, the Iranian authorities interrogated the cast and crew, banning them from leaving the country, and pressuring them to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival line-up.

[21] Rasoulof wrote the screenplay and cast Missagh Zareh and Soheila Golestani in the main roles of the regime-loyal couple Iman and Najmeh, respectively.

After the appeals court confirmed the verdict, he was forced to decide within a two-hour window whether to remain in Iran and surrender to arrest or to flee.

[23] Between the film's fictional scenes, Bird added real images of the political protests following the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran on 16 September 2022.

[30] Prior to its screening, Neon acquired North American distribution rights to the film, planning to release it later that year.

[35] Pyramide Distribution theatrically released the film in France on 18 September 2024, under the title Les Graines du figuier sauvage.

The website's consensus reads: "A searing indictment of oppressive rule, whether it be of a nation or in a household, The Seed of the Sacred Fig functions both as compelling drama and powerful political statement.

[42] Another positive review, by Peter Debruge for Variety, although calling the film a "marathon domestic critique", placed it in a broader context by stating: "The situation Rasoulof depicts is hardly limited to Iran.

There are echoes of Nazi Germany and modern-day China in the way average citizens submit, while the pressures to inform on one's neighbors recall pre-perestroika Soviet policies.

[44] The filmmakers Edward Berger, Tim Fehlbaum, Ciro Guerra, Don Hertzfeldt, Payal Kapadia, Joshua Oppenheimer, Laura Poitras, and Paul Schrader all ranked The Seed of the Sacred Fig as one of their favorite films of 2024.