Exploring The Undercover Directing Style of Iranian Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof: A Study of Execution and Censorship ‘In There Is No Evil’ (2020) and ‘The Seed of The Sacred Fig’ (2024)

Vishnu S; Jone Antony Raja. J

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.72415

Exploring The Undercover Directing Style of Iranian Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof: A Study of Execution and Censorship ‘In There Is No Evil’ (2020) and ‘The Seed of The Sacred Fig’ (2024)

Author(s)	Mr. Vishnu S, Dr. Jone Antony Raja. J
Country	India
Abstract	This research is based on the undercover directing of the Iranian filmmaker Muhammad Rasulof, who has directed the controversial films like “There Is No Evil (2020)” “The seed of a sacred fig”. The films question the Government’s strict policies and the strictness of the Censor Board. Making a film in Iran is much tougher than anything. The Iranian filmmaker is banned from making a film, and in some cases, the Government puts the filmmaker in jail. Every filmmaker wants to submit the script of the film to the Government before making that particular film. In this case, the filmmaker like Rasulof shoots the entire film undercover and releases them outside Iran. The filmmaker also flees the country. The research is based on the qualitative methodology analysis of the 2 films made by the filmmaker Rasulof: “There Is No Evil (2020)” and “The seed of a sacred fig”. Both the films have the same story line: “Execution”. Iran is one of the countries that has the highest rate of “Execution” in the world. The 2 films by the filmmaker Rasulof are about the people involved in the process of “Execution” and the people caught in the web of the unknowing political game.The movie There Is No Evil (2020) explores the 4 short stories about the government representative who signs the execution, as well as the soldiers who witness the scene of the citizens hanging, who either don’t know if the culprit is guilty or not guilty. The other movie, The Seed of The Sacred Fig (2024), explores political issues a bit deeper, as it belongs to the genre of action, drama, thriller, etc. The movie probably belongs to the pressure and paranoia experienced by the family/community, as it shows the political pressure experienced in the state, wherein the life of the citizen is threatened because of the presence of state violence/ideas.
Keywords	Mohammad Rasoulof, Undercover Directing, Film Censorship, Iranian Cinema
Field	Sociology > Journalism / Media
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-25
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.72415

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Exploring The Undercover Directing Style of Iranian Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof: A Study of Execution and Censorship ‘In There Is No Evil’ (2020) and ‘The Seed of The Sacred Fig’ (2024)

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