After secretly filming his latest feature, 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig,' Rasoulof fled Iran following an eight-year prison sentence and a flogging order for alleged national security crimes.
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced that Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, known for his dissident stance against the Iranian government, has been appointed as the president of the New Currents jury for the festival’s 29th edition.
Rasoulof, who fled Iran earlier this year, will be joined by a distinguished panel that includes Korean director Lee Myung Se, Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu, Indian actress Kani Kusruti and Vanya Kaludjercic, director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
The New Currents section, a key competitive category since the festival’s inception, is dedicated to showcasing the first or second feature films of emerging Asian filmmakers. This section has been instrumental in discovering diverse and promising talent, offering a platform for original and experimental works that have helped shape a new generation of filmmakers across Asia.
The jury members will evaluate the films of up-and-coming Asian directors, with two winners each receiving a prize of $30,000.
Rasoulof, who has faced severe repression from the Iranian government due to his works, is an acclaimed filmmaker whose film A Man of Integrity won the Un Certain Regard award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Despite this international recognition, the Iranian government confiscated his passport and later barred him from attending the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020, where his film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear. After serving a prison sentence in 2022 for criticising the government, Rasoulof was sentenced to an additional eight years during the production of The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) for allegedly threatening national security. His escape from Iran and subsequent asylum in Europe made headlines during the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, where The Seed of the Sacred Fig won a Jury Special Prize.
Rasoulof’s career began with documentaries and short films, leading to his debut feature The Twilight (2002), which won Best Film at the Fajr International Film Festival in Iran. He gained international attention with his second feature, Iron Island (2005), and has since directed eight feature films, including Goodbye (2011), Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013) and A Man of Integrity (2017), all of which have won several international awards. Despite his films’ success abroad, none have been screened in Iran due to censorship.
The 29th Busan International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from October 2 to October 11, 2024.
