- 1. Career
- 1.1. 2018: Border
- 1.2. 2022: Holy Spider
- 1.3. 2024: The Apprentice
Biography
Ali Abbasi is an Iranian-Danish filmmaker.
He is known for his films Shelley (2016), Border (2018), Holy Spider (2022), and The Apprentice (2024). Abbasi also directed the last two episodes of the first season of the series The Last of Us. He has received various accolades, including an Un Certain Regard award, four Robert Awards, and a German Film Award, in addition to nominations for seven European Film Awards, a Goya Award, and two Guldbagge Awards.
Career
2018: Border
In 2018, Abbasi premiered his second film, Border. It won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival, was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Although the film didn't get a nomination in that category, it earned a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
2022: Holy Spider
His third feature film, Holy Spider, came out in 2022 and was a Persian-language co-production between Sweden, Denmark, France, and Germany. Based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer who targeted sex workers and killed sixteen women from 2000 to 2001 in Mashhad, Iran, the film depicts a fictional female journalist investigating a serial killer.
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on 22 May 2022. Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who starred in the film, won the festival's Best Actress Award. The film was selected as the Danish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and made the December shortlist.
2024: The Apprentice
Abbasi's latest film, The Apprentice, premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Several distribution contracts are in place for the United States, the Middle East, Asia, South America, as well as Eastern and Western Europe.