Mashhad, Iran, a holy city home to the Imam Reza shrine, served, in 2001, as hunting ground for a serial killer known as The Spider. This man, eventually identified as Saeed Hanaei, believed he was acting in the service of God and his city by “cleansing” the streets of sex workers, 16 of whom he brutally murdered. Directed by Ali Abbasi, actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the prestigious Best Actress award at Cannes for her leading role as Rahimi, a journalist returning to her hometown to help bring the killer to justice.
Abbasi presents what at first appears as a straightforward tale of cat and mouse, and good versus evil. But upon The Spider’s capture, Rahimi is horrified to discover that he has a great deal of support from his friends and those who agree with his skewed judgment of morality. Abbasi presents this mind-boggling scenario free of exaggeration or sentimentality, broadcasting the disturbing degree to which victims can be dehumanized and perpetrators exalted.
Best Actress Award (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), Cannes 2022
Mehdi Bajestani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Alice Rahimi, Sara Fazilat
Denmark/Germany/Sweden/France
2022
In Persian with English subtitles
Graphic Violence, Sexual Violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
Credits
Executive Producer
Ditte Milsted, Christoph Lange
Producer
Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek, Ali Abbasi
Screenwriter
Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Cinematography
Nadim Carlsen
Editor
Hayedeh Safiyari, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production Design
Lina Nordqvist
Original Music
Martin Dirkov
Director
Photo by Nadim Carlsen
Ali Abbasi
Ali Abbasi is a writer and director originally from Iran. He has a BA in architecture and studied directing at the National Film School of Denmark. His feature debut, Shelley (2016) premiered at the Berlinale in 2016 and was released in the US. He is best known for his 2018 film Border, which premiered in Cannes and won the Un Certain Regard Award. The film was chosen as Sweden’s Academy Award entry, was widely released internationally, and won the Danish Film Award. He is currently shooting the TV adaptation of The Last of Us for HBO in Canada.
Filmography: Shelley (2016); Border (2018)