Mohammad Rasoulof was facing eight years in prison — and likely more considering the uncompromising nature of his latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” — when he decided to flee Iran.
His films and statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters had already earned him a long string of prison sentences, filmmaking bans, travel restrictions and the confiscation of his passport in 2017. Leaving his native country meant embarking on a life of exile, not to mention a risky escape on foot across the mountainous borderland.
