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Iranwire – Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list.
The recognition honors his courage in addressing sensitive social and political issues through his work.
Rasoulof conceived the idea for his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig while imprisoned for his artistic activities.
The film, which depicts the violent suppression of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement, received critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar.
In an interview with TIME, Rasoulof spoke about how his prison experience inspired the film, recalling a powerful encounter with a prison official who expressed remorse over his role in the crackdowns.
“The experience of this revolt,” he said, “was seeing its effect on the people who worked inside the prison. I had a casual encounter with a senior prison official who seemed to recognize me.
“He got close and secretly told me how ashamed he was of himself, even saying he had considered taking his own life.”
“Then he told me that his family, his children, kept ctiricizing him, asking why he collaborated with the system, with this oppression.”
Rasoulof has previously faced judicial restrictions and travel bans due to the critical themes of his films.
This year’s TIME 100 list also includes people such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Ed Sheeran, Serena Williams, and Demi Moore.
