Mohammad Rasoulof, an acclaimed Iranian filmmaker living in exile, is garnering acclaim for The Seed of the Sacred Fig at it Cannes unveiling. Neon has already picked up the distribution rights to the nearly three hour political thriller. It won a Special Jury prize at the festival. Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami, and Satereh Maleki star.

With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and a lengthy standing O in the French Riviera, Fig might be the type of International Feature Film that the Academy would honor with a nom. There’s a caveat. Iran will clearly not submit it as a contender. Just this month the nation sentenced Rasoulof to eight years in prison. However, he was able to flee to Germany and made the trek to France for his premiere. Either one of those European countries could theoretically put this up for consideration.

If so, Seed stands a chance at IFF but that’s unclear at press time. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…