Latest news with #TheSeedOfTheSacredFig
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 great Hulu movies you need to stream this weekend (May 30-June 1)
For the final weekend of May, Hulu is adding one of the most important political dramas of 2024. The Seed of the Sacred Fig was made by Iranian filmmakers and actors who risked imprisonment for their involvement with the film. The fact that it was made at all feels like a miracle, and now it's an easy selection for one of the three great Hulu movies that you need to stream this weekend. Our other two picks for the week include a newly added sex comedy/drama and one of the few Star Wars films that's still on Hulu. But don't wait until the first day of June to watch that one. It's probably going home to Disney+ after May 31, so catch it while you can. Recommended Videos Need more recommendations? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) The story behind the 2025 Oscar-nominated The Seed of the Sacred Fig is just as interesting and compelling as the film itself. Iranian writer and director Mohammad Rasoulof was forced to flee his country after making the movie, but stars Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh remain trapped in their homeland. Rasoulof set the story against the real uprising of young women in Iran who pushed back against the harsh religious restrictions placed upon what they could wear in public. Zareh plays Iman, a lawyer who gets his desired promotion to Iran's Revolutionary Court, only to realize that he's supposed to rubber-stamp the sentences brought before him without trial. Iman is also forbidden from telling his wife, Najmeh (Golestani), or their daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), about his new job. He's also given a handgun for protection. When the gun goes missing, Iman becomes increasingly paranoid about the intentions of his wife and children, so much so that it may destroy their bond as a family. Watch The Seed of the Sacred Fig on Hulu. How to Please a Woman (2022) How to Please a Woman is an Australian sex comedy with some drama mixed in as well. Sally Phillips stars as Gina, a middle-aged woman who has an epiphany when her friends send her a stripper, Tom (Alexander England), for her birthday. It turns out that Gina doesn't want to have sex with Tom, but she is very turned on by watching him clean her house with his shirt off. That inspires Gina to save Tom's employers at a moving company and transform them into a cleaning service geared towards women that can also offer sexual gratification on the side. It's a very freeing decision by Gina, as she finally questions what she wants out of her now sexless marriage. But just because Gina feels liberated enough to ask those questions, it doesn't mean she'll like the answers she receives. Watch How to Please a Woman on Hulu. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be on Hulu through at least May 31. Hulu hasn't confirmed it's leaving on June 1, but you should assume that it is. Rogue One is by far the best Star Wars movie in decades and the one that recaptures the flavor of the original trilogy more than any of the prequels or sequels. In the aftermath of Andor, the movie now plays very differently for a few characters who had larger parts on that show. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has a secondary role here to Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a young woman who unexpectedly holds the key to saving the Rebel Alliance from the Death Star. Jyn's father, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), helped build the Death Star, and the message he has for his daughter may help the rebels destroy it. But first, Jyn has to be convinced to accompany Cassian and his droid, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), on a mission to a world under Imperial occupation. From there, it's clear that the only way to stop the Death Star is by stealing the plans from the most secure facility in the entire Empire. Watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Hulu.
Geek Vibes Nation
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' Blu-Ray Review - A Towering Iranian Drama That Grabs You And Refuses To Let Go
Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof's award-winning thriller, THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan. For in-depth thoughts on The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, please see my colleague Matt Minton's review from its original theatrical release here. Video Quality Decal Releasing brings The Seed Of The Sacred Fig to Blu-Ray with a fetching 1080p video presentation. The presentation delivers an impressive amount of depth to the screen. Black levels are largely deep with no serious instances of digital noise. Fleeting signs of banding and other discrete digital hiccups show up in the transfer, but it is not a dealbreaker. The image is crisp and clear as we see all the efforts put into bringing this gorgeous, haunting film to the screen. The production design and the clothing impress with exquisite textural details. Flesh tones are natural and consistent with ideal detail present in close-ups. The color palette leads a bit on the cooler side of the spectrum with very little in the way of vibrant colors poking through, yet every hue maintains a fine sense of accuracy to them. The label has done a good job with this one. Audio Quality This Blu-Ray comes with a favorable DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Persian that executes all of the sonic details with care. Karzan Mahmood's score establishes the mood of the story as it flows from the speakers with crisp fidelity. Environmental sounds enrich the surround speakers effectively. Ambient sounds are deftly deployed in the rear channels for a fully immersive experience. Dialogue presents clearly without being burdened by any competing elements. There are a handful of thrilling moments that add texture to the low end, but it is not an action-packed movie by any means. The audio track serves this one quite well. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are provided. Special Features The Making of The Seed of the Sacred Fig: A four-minute piece that delves into how director Mohammad Rasoulof made this film in secret. Trailer (2:12) Final Thoughts The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is a towering drama that shows the pervasive nature of authoritarianism within a family context. The film is quite lengthy, but it uses every minute of its runtime to build up the tension to nearly unbearable levels. Every performance is perfectly dialed into the appropriate wavelength for maximum impact, and Mohammad Rasoulof orchestrates the entire affair with a masterful hand. Decal Releasing has released a Blu-Ray featuring a fantastic A/V presentation but very little in the way of supplemental features. This is one of the better films to emerge out of 2024, and it should not be missed. Recommended The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Decal Releasing has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iranian ‘My Favourite Cake' Filmmakers Receive Suspended Jail Sentence & Fines For Showing Actress Without Hijab
Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam have received a 14-month jail sentence as well as $14,000 worth of fines related to their feature My Favourite Cake which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2024. The filmmaking duo and their producer and Gholamreza Mousavi have been in the crosshairs of Iran's authoritarian Islamic Republic regime since early 2023 over the heartwarming drama about an elderly widow who reconnects with life's small pleasures in the face of solitude. More from Deadline Juliette Binoche, Pedro Almodóvar & Mohammad Rasoulof Join 3,000 Signatories Of Petition In Support Of Iranian Filmmakers Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha Iranian 'My Favourite Cake' Filmmakers Sound Alarm Over Court Summons & Anonymous Death Threats Rotterdam Fest Director Expresses Solidarity For 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' Actress Soheila Golestani Following Iran Travel Ban Sanaeeha and Moghadam, who is also a Swedish national, were grounded by a travel ban prior to the film's world premiere in Berlin and the couple have since been subjected to an Islamic Revolutionary Court investigation. In the lead-up to the court hearing in February, they also started receiving death threats. Elements of My Favourite Cake which upset the Iranian authorities include showing the female protagonist, played by Lily Farhadpour, without a headscarf as well as the storyline around her romance with an equally lonely widower and scenes in which she dances and drinks wine with him. Court papers released by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran this week state that Sanaeeham, Moghadam and Mousavi were convicted 'of propaganda against the Islamic Republic through dissemination of false information intended to disturb public opinion' as well as producing 'obscene content'. They were sentenced to 14 months of discretionary imprisonment, suspended for five years, and ordered to pay a fine of 400M Iranian Rials ($9.4K) to the state treasury. Additionally, the trio were also fined 200 million Iranian Rials ($4.7K) and had their equipment confiscated for screening and distributing the film without an official exhibition license. My Favourite Cake was made in the wake of Iran's 2022 Woman Life Freedom protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for not covering her hair in accordance with the Islamic Republic's sexist rules around how women should dress. Prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution women were free to wear what they wanted. My Favourite Cake is among a number of Iranian features made in the wake of the protests showing women without their head covered. Mohamed Rasoulof's Oscar-nominated The Seed of the Secret Fig, shot undercover in Iran prior to going into exile in Germany in 2024, went further, challenging the patriarchal system on which the country is run. Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi, who is also living outside of the country, has said he will not shoot in Iran until the obligation to wear a hijab is lifted. The political persecution of Sanaeeham and Moghadam, who are stuck in Iran, has sparked concern in the international film industry. More than 3,000 cinema professionals – including Juliette Binoche, Pedro Almodóvar, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Hiam Abbass, Alberto Barbera, Tricia Tuttle and Rebecca Zlotowski – signed a petition calling for the directors to be released and the charges to be dropped ahead of the trial in February. The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), a joint venture between the European Film Academy, the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which instigated the petition has called on the international film community to keep highlight the plight of Sanaeeham, Moghadam and Mousavi. Best of Deadline A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media 'Hacks' Season 4 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About 'Hacks' Season 4 So Far
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iranian ‘My Favourite Cake' Filmmakers Sound Alarm Over Court Summons & Anonymous Death Threats
Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam have appealed for support after they received a court summons and anonymous death threats related to their film My Favourite Cake which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2024. A heartwarming tale of love and loss and coming to terms with old age, My Favourite Cake stars Lily Farhadpour as a 70-year-old widow who reconnects with life's small pleasures in the face of solitude, following her husband's death. More from Deadline Rotterdam Fest Director Expresses Solidarity For 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' Actress Soheila Golestani Following Iran Travel Ban 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' Actress Soheila Golestani Barred From Leaving Iran To Serve On Rotterdam Jury Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Freed From Iranian Prison In a message posted on social media, Sanaeeha said that after several interrogation sessions related to the film at the security prosecutor's office for Iran's notorious Evin jail, he and Moghadam had been summoned for a hearing at a revolutionary court on March 1. The charges against them are: propaganda against the regime; production, distribution, and duplication of a film with obscene content; offending public decency and morality and screening the film without obtaining a screening and distribution license. The couple have also told friends that they have been receiving death threats from anonymous callers. My Favourite Cake has incurred the wrath of Iran's authoritarian Islamic Republic regime due to the fact that Farhadpour is shown without a headscarf, while her character is also seen seeking companionship with an equally lonely widower and drinking wine with him. The drama is among a growing number of underground features coming out of Iran in the wake of the 2022 Woman Life Freedom protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, in which filmmakers challenge the Islamic Republic's sexist rules around what women should wear and how they should act. These films are seen as a sign that regardless of the government's harsh crackdown and attempts to suppress the protests, something has changed in Iranian society for good in the wake of the Woman Life Freedom movement. The situation still remains extremely dangerous for filmmakers who stand-up to the regime with director Navid Mihandoust, for example, currently serving a three-and-a-half sentence on trumped up charges, related to his refusal to cooperate in a plot targeting U.S.-based Iranian activist journalist Masih Alinejad. Husband and wife team Sanaeeha and Moghadam were banned from travelling to Berlin for the premiere of My Favourite Cake, while Farhadpour and co-star Esmaeel Mehrabi were allowed to make the trip and held up photos of their absent directors at the press conference. Moghadam, who also holds Swedish nationality, and Sanaeeha were then stopped from travelling to Sweden last September, with security agencies confiscating their passports at Tehran airport. Farhadpour, who has also received a summons, has mounted a petition and campaign in support of the directors. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Tonys, Guilds & More How To Watch Sunday's 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' Online & On TV
