# Mohammad Rasoulof

Mohammad Rasoulof (Persian: محمد رسول‌اف; born 16 November 1972) is an Iranian independent filmmaker who lives in exile in Europe. He is known for several award-winning films, including The Twilight (2002), Iron Island (2005), Goodbye (2011), Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013), A Man of Integrity (2017) and There Is No Evil (2020). For the latter, he won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.
He has been arrested several times and had his passport confiscated, as the nature and content of his films has brought him into conflict with the Iranian Government. In May 2024, following the announcement that his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig was selected in the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced by the Islamic Republic to 8 years in prison, whipping, and a fine. Rasoulof fled to a safe house in Germany after the sentencing.

## Early life and education

Mohammad Rasoulof was born on 16 November 1972 in Shiraz, Iran. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from Shiraz University, and he has studied film editing at Soore University, Tehran.

## Career

His first feature-length film, The Twilight (Gagooman), was released in 2002 and was awarded the Crystal Simorgh for Best First Film at the Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran. His second feature, Iron Island (Jazire-ye ahani), was released in 2005. His feature The White Meadows (Keshtzarha-ye sepid) was released in 2009.
Goodbye (Be omid-e didar) premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and won the prize for directing. His film Manuscripts Don't Burn also premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. A Man of Integrity won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
In June 2017, Rasoulof was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
There Is No Evil was awarded the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in 2020, and the Sydney Film Prize at the 68th Sydney Film Festival in 2021.
In 2024, Rasoulof served as the president of the New Currents jury at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.

## Legal problems and exile

In 2010, Rasoulof was arrested on set and accused of filming without a permit. He was sentenced to six years in prison, later reduced to one year.
In September 2017 his passport was confiscated upon his return to Iran, meaning he became mamnu'-ol-xoruğ (Persian: ممنوع‌الخروج), i.e. banned from leaving the country. Furthermore, he was ordered to attend a court hearing.
On 23 July 2019, Rasoulof was convicted by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Iran to one-year imprisonment and a two-year ban on leaving the country and on participation in social and political activity because of his film A Man of Integrity. He is accused of "gathering and collusion against national security and of propaganda against the system". In August 2019 Rasoulof appealed the verdict. On his way to the court, in an act of professional solidarity, he and his lawyer were accompanied by some of the most renowned Iranian filmmakers, including Kianoush Ayyari, Majid Barzegar, Reza Dormishian, Asghar Farhadi, Bahman Farmanara, Rakhshān Banietemad, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Jafar Panahi, and Hasan Pourshirazi.
On 4 March 2020, Rasoulof was sentenced to one year in prison for three of his movies, which were considered "propaganda against the system". The verdict also included a ban on making films for two years. He has stated that he intends to appeal the decision and will not turn himself in, considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which had already led Iran to release 54,000 prisoners temporarily in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
Rasoulof was originally scheduled to take part in the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a jury member of the Un Certain Regard section. However, he was arrested in July 2022 after criticising the government's crackdown on protestors in the southwestern city of Abadan over a deadly building collapse. He was temporarily released from prison in February 2023 due to his health. Rasoulof was later pardoned and sentenced to a year in prison and a two-year ban on leaving Iran for "propaganda against the regime."
Following the announcement that his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig was selected in the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the cast and crew were interrogated by Iranian authorities, banned from leaving the country, and pressured to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival line-up. On 8 May 2024, Rasoulof's lawyer announced that the director has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property.
Shortly after, Rasoulof, and some crew members, managed to flee from Iran. While appealing his sentence, Rasoulof planned his "exhausting, long, complicated, and anguishing journey" out of Iran, which took a total of 28 days. He traveled on foot for several hours with a guide to a village at the border on the Iranian side, where he waited for the appropriate time to cross. He was transferred to a safe house in a village on the non-Iranian side, where he waited for an extended period of time. He was then moved to a town with a German consulate. His passport had been seized by Iranian authorities, so he had no documents to identify himself. However, Rasoulof previously lived in Germany so he contacted the German authorities, who were able to identify him using his fingerprints and issued him a temporary travel document which he used to travel to Germany. On 24 May 2024, he attended the red carpet in Cannes, where later he received a Special Award for his film.

## Filmography

| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 2002 | The Twilight | گاگومان | Yes | Yes | No | Docu-Fiction |
| 2005 | Iron Island | جزیره آهنی | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2008 | Head Wind | باد دبور | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary |
| 2009 | The White Meadows | کشتزارهای سپید | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2010 | Gesher | Gesher | No | No | Yes | |
| 2011 | Goodbye | به امید دیدار | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | دست‌نوشته‌ها نمی‌سوزند | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | A Man of Integrity | لِرد | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | The Red Hatchback | هاچ‌بک قرمز | No | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Ashkan Najafi; Co-produced with Kaveh Farnam, Farzad Pak, Rozita Hendijanian |
| 2019 | Son-Mother | مادر-پسر | No | Yes | Yes | Co-produced with Kaveh Farnam, Farzad Pak |
| 2020 | There Is No Evil | شیطان وجود ندارد | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-produced with Kaveh Farnam, Farzad Pak |
| 2022 | Jenayat-e amdi | جنایت عمدی | Yes | Yes | Yes | Documentary |
| 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانه انجیر مقدس | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-produced with Rozita Hendijanian, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
| Academy Awards | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best International Feature Film (as Germany’s entry) | Nominated | |
| Adelaide Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | International Best Feature Fiction Award | Nominated | |
| Amiens International Film Festival | 2011 | — | Golden Unicorn for Career Achievement | Won | |
| Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival | 2011 | Goodbye | Youth Jury Award | Won | |
| Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival | 2011 | Goodbye | SIYAD (Cinema Writers' Foundation) Jury Award | Won | |
| Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Best Director | Won | [38] [39] |
| Asian Film Awards | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Screenplay | Won | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 2011 | Goodbye | Best Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 2011 | Goodbye | Achievement in Directing | Nominated | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Best Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 2021 | There Is No Evil | Best Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Avanca Film Festival | 2007 | Iron Island | Feature Film Prize | Won | |
| Avanca Film Festival | 2007 | Iron Island | Best Screenplay Prize | Won | |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Golden Bear | Won | |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Won | |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Guild Film Prize | Won | |
| British Academy Film Awards | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Film Not in the English Language | Nominated | |
| British Independent Film Awards | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best International Independent Film | Nominated | |
| Calgary International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Audience Award – International Narrative Feature | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2011 | Goodbye | Prix Un Certain Regard | Nominated | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2011 | Goodbye | Un Certain Regard – Directing Prize | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2011 | Goodbye | François Chalais Prize – Special Mention | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2013 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | Prix Un Certain Regard | Nominated | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2013 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | FIPRESCI Prize – Un Certain Regard | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Prix Un Certain Regard | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Palme d'Or | Nominated | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Special Award (Prix Spécial) | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | FIPRESCI Prize | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | François Chalais Prize | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai | Won | |
| César Awards | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | |
| Chicago International Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Gold Hugo | Nominated | [59] [60] |
| Chicago International Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Best Screenplay | Won | [59] [60] |
| Chicago International Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Silver Hugo – Best Screenplay | Won | |
| Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films | 2007 | Iron Island | Buried Treasure | Won | |
| Cleveland International Film Festival | 2021 | There Is No Evil | International Narrative Competition | Won | |
| Crested Butte Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Courage in Filmmaking | Won | |
| Denver Film Festival | 2010 | The White Meadows | Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film | Won | |
| Dubai International Film Festival | 2009 | The White Meadows | Special Jury Prize | Won | |
| Durban International Film Festival | 2010 | The White Meadows | Best Feature Film | Won | |
| Durban International Film Festival | 2012 | Goodbye | Special Jury Mention | Won | |
| European Film Awards | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | European Film | Nominated | [69] [70] |
| European Film Awards | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | European Director | Nominated | [69] [70] |
| European Film Awards | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | European Screenwriter | Nominated | [69] [70] |
| Fajr International Film Festival | 2003 | The Twilight | Crystal Simorgh for Best First Film | Won | |
| Festival du nouveau cinéma | 2005 | Iron Island | Special Mention | Won | [71] [72] |
| Festival du nouveau cinéma | 2005 | Iron Island | Best Screenplay | Won | [71] [72] |
| Film Fest Gent | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Grand Prix | Nominated | |
| Filmfest Hamburg | 2005 | Iron Island | Critics' Choice Award | Won | |
| Filmfest Hamburg | 2013 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | Political Film of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung | Won | |
| Filmfest Hamburg | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Critics' Choice Award | Nominated | |
| Films from the South | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Silver Mirror Award | Won | |
| Fribourg International Film Festival | 2014 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | Special Mention | Won | |
| Fribourg International Film Festival | 2014 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | Grand Prix | Nominated | |
| Gijón International Film Festival | 2005 | Iron Island | Special Jury Prize | Won | |
| Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | FIPRESCI Prize | Won | |
| Heartland International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Grand Prize for Narrative Feature | Won | |
| Hong Kong International Film Festival | 2012 | Goodbye | SIGNIS Award | Nominated | |
| International Cinephile Society | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |
| International Film Festival of India | 2005 | Iron Island | Golden Peacock | Won | |
| International Film Festival of India | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Golden Peacock | Nominated | |
| International Film Festival Rotterdam | 2012 | Goodbye | Dioraphte Award | Won | |
| Iran Cinema Celebration | 2002 | The Twilight | Best Documentary | Won | |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Honorable Mention | Won | |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | International Competition | Nominated | |
| Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival | 2017 | A Man of Integrity | Best Film Award (Jaeger-LeCoultre) | Nominated | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Director | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best Film Not in the English Language | Runner-up | |
| Lumière Awards | 2025 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best International Co-Production | Won | |
| Luxembourg City Film Festival | 2014 | Manuscripts Don't Burn | Grand Prix | Won | |
| Milwaukee Film Festival | 2012 | Goodbye | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Milwaukee Film Festival | 2012 | Goodbye | Best Director | Won | |
| Montclair Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Fiction Feature Prize | Won | [90] [91] |
| National Board of Review | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Best International Film | Won | |
| Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival | 2013 | — | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | |
| Philadelphia Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Audience Award | Won | |
| San Sebastián International Film Festival | 2009 | The White Meadows | Golden Shell | Nominated | |
| San Sebastián International Film Festival | 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award for Best European Film | Won | [96] [97] |
| Seattle International Film Festival | 2021 | There Is No Evil | Golden Space Needle Audience Award for Best Film | Won | [98] [99] |
| Seattle International Film Festival | 2021 | There Is No Evil | Official Competition Grand Jury Prize | Nominated | [98] [99] |
| Sydney Film Festival | 2021 | There Is No Evil | Sydney Film Prize | Won | |
| Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 2005 | Iron Island | Grand Prize | Nominated | |
| Telluride Film Festival | 2013 | — | Silver Medallion | Won | |
| Tokyo Filmex | 2011 | Goodbye | Grand Prize | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association | 2023 | — | Special Citation (shared with Jafar Panahi and Mostafa Al-Ahmad) | Honored | |
| Tribeca Festival | 2010 | The White Meadows | Best Narrative Feature | Nominated | [103] [104] |
| Tromsø International Film Festival | 2021 | There Is No Evil | Norwegian Peace Film Award | Won | |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 2018 | — | Honorary Spike | Won | |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Special Mention | Won | [107] [108] |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 2020 | There Is No Evil | Blogos de Oro Award | Won | [107] [108] |
* ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.