In the latest film by the creator of the Oscar-nominated “Border”, we see the story of a serial killer who killed sex workers in Iran in 2000. The killer claimed that he only wanted to “cleanse” the streets of evil, and a large part of the public supported him in this. Ali Abbasi in “Holy Spider” shows a world where brutal madmen are only applauded, and women fighting for survival are considered worthless.
We see Zar Amir-Ebrahimi in the main role, who received the award for the best actress in the main competition of the festival in Cannes. Its heroine is a journalist from Tehran who returns to her hometown of Mashhad to report on the course of an investigation that is not actually being conducted at all.
The woman, seeing the sluggishness of the police, decides to take fate into her own hands to prevent further crimes and to do justice to the victims of the criminal. Ebrahimi won an acting award at Cannes for this bold performance. It turns out that the actress and the character she plays have more in common than one might expect. “I saw my life as a script,” Ebrahimi confessed.
She was successful for a while, then had to flee the country
The 41-year-old actress was threatened with imprisonment and 99 lashes several years ago and was banned from practicing her profession in Iran for 10 years. The artist has been fulfilling herself as a director and actor since the age of 18, but her participation in the television series “Nargess” gave her the greatest publicity, which gained nationwide fame. Thanks to him, Zar Amir-Ebrahimi became one of the most popular Iranian actresses of that time.
However, her streak in Iran did not last long. A few months after her debut in the series, a great moral scandal broke out with her participation. A private tape with an alleged recording of the actress having sex with a man has been made public. The case shocked the Iranian public and very quickly went to the prosecutors. The actress faced a prison sentence, 99 lashes and a 10-year ban on practicing in Iran.
Fearing for her life, she decided to flee the country just before the trial began. “I paid for all this trauma. I was afraid to go out on the street alone. (…) The authorities did everything to make me a helpless and terrified victim,” Ebrahimi said in one of the interviews.
She started her new life in Paris, where she initially worked in various professions to survive. After some time, she found herself in the milieu of the Iranian artistic diaspora, which could openly and uncompromisingly talk about abuses in Iran. It was in France that the actress could begin to develop at full speed. She began performing in many productions that were appreciated at international festivals.
After a masterful role in “Holy Spider”, her career may gain even more momentum. The Iranian actress was included in the BBC list of 100 most inspiring and influential women in 2022, and the film “Shayda” with her participation premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The executive producer of the film is Cate Blanchett. However, right after the end of the festival, the actress took over the role of the chairman of the jury of the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
