Berlin and Lyon-based sales company Films Boutique will handle distribution of the new work by Mohammad Rasoulof, the acclaimed dissident Iranian filmmaker behind such films as The Seed of the Sacred Fig, A Man of Integrity, and Manuscripts Don't Burn. Interestingly, this time the auteur has made a 39-minute short film titled Sense of Water.
It is Rasoulof's follow-up to the Cannes Special Jury Prize-winning feature The Seed of the Sacred Fig. He has been known for his strongly political films that rely on pure visual storytelling rather than resorting to preachiness to get the essence and messages of his films across.
Sense of Water, which was shot outside Iran, is slated to premiere at the upcoming International Film Festival Rotterdam. Rasoulof based the story on his own experiences following his move to Germany in 2024 after the Iranian regime issued sentences against him for his work on The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
According to the official synopsis, Sense of Water follows an exiled Iranian writer. “There, in the silence of the polar night, he intends to say goodbye. Despite facing a long prison sentence, Ali has decided to return to Iran to continue the struggle he once left behind,” it adds.
In an official statement to Variety, Rasoulof said, “My lived experience in exile was the starting point for this story. I suddenly realised that the first thing I had lost was the ability to feel words in a deep, immediate, and intimate way in a second language.”
In their official statement, Films Boutique CEO Jean-Christophe Simon shared that the film's subject "sadly resonates with the current actuality.” “We’re incredibly proud to continue our collaboration with Mohammad Rasoulof and our friends at Run Way Pictures, following the great success of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” he added.
Produced by Amin Sadraei, Rozita Hendijanian, and Mani Tilgner via Hamburg’s Run Way Pictures, Sense of Water was made with the support of the Displacement Film Fund (which was launched by Cate Blanchett), the Hubert Bals Fund, and the Moin Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.