Muhammad: The Messenger of God (film)

Muhammad: The Messenger of God
Directed by	Majid Majidi
Written by	Majid Majidi Hamid Amjad Kambuzia Partovi
Based on	Muhammad
Produced by	Muhammad Mehdi Heidarian Mohammadreza Saberi Majid Majidi
Starring	Mahdi Pakdel Alireza Shoja Nouri Mohsen Tanabandeh Sareh Bayat Mina Sadati Rana Azadivar
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Roberto Perpignani
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Production companies	Noor-e-Taban Film Company Production Infinite Production Company GmbH
Release date	August 27, 2015 (2015-08-27) (Iran)
Running time	178 minutes[1]
Country	Iran
Languages	Persian Aramaic Arabic
Budget	$40 million[2]
Box office	$1.4 million

Muhammad: The Messenger of God (Persian: محمد رسول‌الله, romanized: Mohammad Rasulollah) is a 2015 Iranian Islamic epic film directed by Majid Majidi and co-written with Kambuzia Partovi. Set in the sixth century, the plot revolves around the childhood of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The film marks the highest-budget production in Iranian cinema to date.^[3] Development of Muhammad: The Messenger of God began in 2007 and Majidi wrote the first draft of the screenplay by 2009. By 2011, a colossal set created in the city of Qom near Tehran was ready for the majority of the film. Throughout the filming process, Majidi worked with a team of historians and archaeologists for the work on accuracy of the early life of Muhammad. Post-production works began in Munich during late 2013 and were completed in 2014. The cinematography is done by Vittorio Storaro and film score is composed by A. R. Rahman.

The film was set to have its premiere at the Fajr International Film Festival on 1 February 2015 but was pulled due to technical difficulties. For the critics, filmmakers and journalists, a special screening was held at Cinema Farhang in Iran on 12 February 2015. It was released both in Iran and at Montreal World Film Festival on 27 August 2015. The film was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.^[4][5]