IranWire

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s film "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" has been nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

The film, submitted by Germany, follows an investigative judge in Tehran's Revolutionary Court amid the 2022 protests.

Filmed secretly and including real demonstration footage, the movie explores themes of distrust and political tension.

Rasoulof previously won the Special Jury Prize at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

The director reached Europe last yaer after being sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, and property confiscation by the Islamic Republic.

Rasoulof’s lawyer, Babak Paknia, explained that the charges stemmed from the director's films and his involvement in a letter urging authorities to stop violence during protests over a deadly building collapse in 2022.

"I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey," Rasoulof said after leaving Iran.

Another Iranian project, the animated short "In the Shadow of the Cypress" by Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi, is nominated for Best Animated Short Film.

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 2 in Hollywood.