Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Zar Amir Ebrahimi won Best Actress in Cannes for her performance as a fearless reporter in Ali Abbasi’s gripping serial-killer procedural. Based on a shocking true story, Holy Spider prowls the Iranian night, refusing to pull any punches in its trenchant critiques of misogyny and hypocrisy.

After fleeing her husband, a young Iranian mother, Shayda, and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women's shelter. During the two weeks of the Iranian New Year, Shayda tries to embrace her fresh start - but when her husband gains visitation rights, she fears for her daughter's safety.

A young Iranian lifeguard is determined to take part in an women's competition in Australia.

In this gorgeously animated drama, the lives of several women and a young musician intersect in the bustling metropolis of Tehran, where breaking taboos can be a means of personal emancipation. Making use of rotoscope animation, expat Iranian filmmaker Ali Soozandeh creates a portrait of contemporary Tehran that would be impossible by any other means.