The Seed of the Sacred Fig(2024)

PG-13
Rated PG-13 for disturbing violent content, bloody images, thematic content, some language and smoking
2h 47m

Release Date: Nov 27, 2024 | Limited

Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.

Releases

Original Release | Nov 27, 2024

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Box Office Results

Updated as of Jan 27, 2026 11:46 AM ET

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$35,230
Total US & Canada:
$860,139
Total International
$5,727,558
Total Worldwide:
$6,587,697

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Mohammad Rasoulof
Director

Soheila Golestani
Najmeh

Missagh Zareh
Iman

Setareh Maleki
Sana

Mahsa Rostami
Rezvan

Niousha Akhshi
Sadaf

Reza Akhlaghirad

Ghaderi

Shiva Ordooie

Fatemeh

Amineh Mazrouie Arani

Woman in car

Mohammad Kamal Alavi

Actor

Parisa Mohyedini

Actor

Barat Azimi

Actor

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: France,Germany

Language: Persian

Summaries

Plot Summary

Iman is a devoted and trustworthy attorney who resides with his wife, Najmeh, and their daughters, Sana and Rezvan. He was just appointed to the position of investigating judge at Tehran's Revolutionary Court. In addition to a larger apartment for his family, the job offers him a higher salary. Iman learns that he was passed over for the job due to his legal skills as the country's political demonstrations against the authoritarian regime take place. Without considering the evidence, he is expected to accept decisions made by his superiors, including those involving death sentences. He is therefore obliged to maintain his anonymity. In order to exert pressure on him, he is told to keep information from his family members and friends who might be singled out. He expects his kids to avoid social media. For the protection of his family, the government gives him a handgun, but Iman is dreadfully unprepared to handle it and neglects to keep it in a safe place in the house.Iman's life is filled with distrust and paranoia as the country's political protests get more intense. He is forced to sign hundreds of death sentences every day as a result of the protests. Rezvan and Sana, meanwhile, use their cell phones to horrified follow the protests. In the end, the two daughters rebel against their father over dinner. He calls their feminist sensibilities "enemy propaganda" and chastises them for them. Like Iman, Najmeh is so pious that she counsels her daughters to avoid their revolutionary companions. There is a growing decline in the bond between daughters and their parents. Najmeh and her daughters administer first aid in their apartment after Rezvan's close friend Sadaf is shot in the face while participating in a protest against the mandatory hijack. They make the decision not to tell Iman about the incident. Sadaf is taken into custody shortly after.Iman's gun mysteriously vanishes at the same time, and he starts to suspect that one of his family's women has stolen it and is deceiving him. He makes his wife and both daughters appear before his colleague Alireza so they can be questioned. Iman defends this treatment by claiming that because he can no longer trust his family, he no longer feels safe in his own house. On social media, Iman's name, address, and photo are made public. He chooses to drive to his childhood home in the mountains with his wife and daughters for their own safety. A coworker hands him an extra gun for protection before he departs.The family meets a couple who know Iman during the car ride. Iman threatens them with the new gun and drives them off the road during the ensuing car chase. Sana tells her sister that she took her father's original gun and now owns it while that altercation is taking place outside the car.Iman holds his family members accountable at the childhood home. In front of a camera, he questions the women and attempts to coerce them into confessing. In an attempt to shield her sister and mother, Rezvan makes up a confession that she concealed the firearm. Iman locks Rezvan and Najmeh up while Sana breaks out with the gun. She successfully sets a trap, locks him in a shed, and releases her mother and sister before he escapes.Ultimately, a crazy pursuit unfolds outside the house. When Iman finally captures Najmeh, Sana and Rezvan follow her cries. Sana lifts her gun to shoot her father, but she takes a moment to do so. She shoots the ground beneath her father in a panic when he approaches her. Iman is thought to have died when the ground gives way.Mobile phone footage shows women protesting in Tehran's streets with pride as the movie comes to a close.

Storyline

Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.