The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the Iranian drama from exiled director Mohammad Rasoulof has won the top prize for best film at the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films.

The prize was announced at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival. A jury of critics from 15 Arab countries picked Rasoulof’s drama from among 22 European productions. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a French-German-Iranian production and is Germany’s official entry for the 2025 Academy Awards in the best international feature category.

The film, a depiction of a conservative Iranian family that breaks apart amid the political turmoil of the Women Life Freedom protests, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where it won a special jury prize, and the Fipresci honor from international film critics.

Rasoulof, a sharp critic of the Iranian regime — Rasoulof had been arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail in July 2022 for signing a petition calling on security forces to “Lay Down Your Arms” and exercise restraint in response to street protests — shot the film in secret. Shortly before Cannes, and after receiving an eight-year prison sentence, he fled the country by foot. He now lives in Germany.

The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films was launched in 2019 by European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) to promote film diversity across Europe and to boost industry interest in the Arab region in outstanding European films. It’s hoped the jury of Arab-speaking critics will help bridge cultural differences and offer fresh perspectives on European cinema. Previous Arab Critics’ winners include Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (2023), EO by Jerzy Skolimowski (2022), and 107 Mothers by Peter Kerekes (2021).