Mohammad Rasoulof is considered one of the most important modern-day Iranian filmmakers. In his films, he exposes the inner workings of the Iranian regime and shows how political oppression and corruption shape the everyday lives of Iranians.
Rasoulof’s films themselves have also been marked by repression. During this edition of The State of the World, Rasoulof uses excerpts from his own body of work to demonstrate how political repression not only determines what an artist can speak about, but also influences form, imagination, and artistic choices. Over more than twenty years of working under censorship, his cinematic language has evolved from allegorical and indirect to more direct, sharp, and confrontational.
Mohammad Rasoulof’s work has received widespread international acclaim. He won the Golden Bear for There Is No Evil (2020) and the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for The Seed of the Sacred Fig. That film directly engages with the protests and repression that followed the death of Mahsa Amini.
Shortly before the film’s premiere, Rasoulof fled Iran after once again being sentenced to imprisonment because of his work and his criticism of the regime.
In the weeks that follow, De Balie presents a small retrospective of Rasoulof’s films, offering the opportunity to discover his remarkable body of work on the big screen.
Ticketsale via Nederlands Theater Festival, the event will be held in De Balie’s Grote Zaal.
About The State of the World The State of the World is an annual interview series featuring international artists, creators, and thinkers discussing the role of art in today’s world. Previous guests have included Maria Alyokhina (leader of Pussy Riot and activist), Sahra Mani (filmmaker from Afghanistan), award-winning bestselling author Nino Haratischwili, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph (former Vice President and Artistic Director of the Kennedy Center).
The State of the World takes place during the Dutch Theatre Festival and the Amsterdam Fringe Festival and is a collaboration between the Dutch Theatre Festival (NTF) and De Balie as part of the AFF x NTF PRO theatre conference.
Speakers
Mohammad RasoulofDirector
De Balie Cinema, films die je kijk op de wereld veranderen
zo 20 sep / 14:00
Cinema
There Is No Evil
Four stories reveal the human cost of Iran’s death-penalty system, as ordinary people are forced to choose between obedience, resistance and moral responsibility. A husband returns home after a night shift. A young soldier struggles with an order he cannot accept. A man living in isolation carries the consequences of a decision made years earlier.
When a judge’s service pistol disappears, mounting political unrest turns a Tehran family against itself as suspicion, fear and authoritarian power invade their home. Iman is appointed as an investigating judge at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. His promotion brings both prestige and a new burden – as protests erupt across the country, he is expected to
A community living aboard a stranded ship is held together by a charismatic captain whose paternal authority slowly reveals itself as a system of control. A rusting oil tanker stranded in the Persian Gulf has become an unlikely home for a community of poor and displaced families. Here, children go to school, marriages are arranged,
