Director Mohammad Rasoulof risked his life to make “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Iran. Then came the hard part.

Director Mohammad Rasoulof is banned at home in Iran but continues to make prize-winning work, including his latest thriller, 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig.'

The insidious monstrousness of Iran’s regime and culture is brutally censured by The Seed of the Sacred Fig, in theaters Nov. 27, an acclaimed import whose writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof was forced—on the eve of its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival—to flee his homeland due to being sentenced by the Islamic Republic to eight years in prison and a flogging (along with having his property confiscated).

Mohammad Rasoulof's provocative film has been banned in Iran, but Germany has submitted it for Oscar consideration