‘Seed of the Sacred Fig’ Director Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘Sense of Water’ Acquired by Films Boutique (Exclusive)

Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof’s new work “Sense of Water” – which is the dissident director’s first film since “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” – has been picked up for global distribution by French sales company Films Boutique.

The 39-minute “Sense of Water” short, which is premiering at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, also marks the first film Rasoulof has shot outside Iran. It reflects his personal journey since escaping to Germany in May 2024 after receiving a jail and flogging sentence from Iranian authorities for making “Sacred Fig,” which won the Special Jury prize at Cannes.

In “Sense of Water,” an Iranian writer living in exile, retreats with his former lover, Nazanin, to a glass cabin “in the northernmost reaches of the world,” as the synopsis puts it.

“There, in the silence of the polar night, he intends to say goodbye. Despite facing a long prison sentence, Ali has decided…