The German-French-Iranian co-production The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+lee también:
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entrevista: Directors Talks @ European…
entrevista: Mohammad Rasoulof
ficha de la película] by Mohammad Rasoulof has won this year’s Arab Critics' Awards for European Films, which is being presented for the sixth time by European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).

During the award ceremony at this year’s El Gouna Film Festival, The Seed of the Sacred Fig was announced as the winning film on the evening of the 29 October. The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who could not attend the festival in person, sent greetings to El Gouna. In his video message, he expressed his great regret not being able to be on site in person and thanked the jury and the festival for the prestigious award. The producer of the film, Mani Tilgner (Run Way Pictures), gratefully received the trophy on the director’s behalf at the award ceremony.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig tells the story of an Iranian investigative judge who, as a result of the nationwide political protests against the authoritarian government, has to deal with his family’s increasing mistrust and paranoia. Rasoulof was inspired by an encounter in an Iranian prison during his imprisonment. A prison guard had taken him aside and revealed to him that he wanted to kill himself because his family and children were constantly criticising him for doing this kind of work; it became the theme of his film. Shot under the most difficult conditions and in secrecy, following an arduous escape from his home country, Mohammad Rasoulof was able to attend the world premiere of his film at Cannes where he received the Special Jury Prize. Produced by Rasoulof’s Hamburg-based company Run Way Pictures in coproduction with Parallel45 (France), the film is Germany’s entry of the 97th Academy Awards.

The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films was launched in 2019 by EFP and ACC. It is a spin-off from the ACC’s now well-established Critics' Awards to boost film diversity in the region and raise the interest of sales companies and the industry for outstanding European films. This initiative also aims to cast a spotlight on the distinguished film critics from 15 Arab-speaking countries and their important role in opening up new perspectives and bridging cultural diversities. The previous four winners were God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya [+lee también:
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entrevista: Labina Mitevska
entrevista: Teona Strugar Mitevska
ficha de la película] by Teona Strugar Mitevska (2019), Undine [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christian Petzold
ficha de la película] by Christian Petzold (2020), 107 Mothers [+lee también:
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entrevista: Peter Kerekes
ficha de la película] by Péter Kerekes (2021), EO [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Jerzy Skolimowski (2022) and Fallen Leaves [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Aki Kaurismäki (2023).