LFF: Holy Spider

This is a past event

BBFC RatingLFF: Holy Spider

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CertificateNot Rated
Year2022
GenreCrime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s)Ali Abbasi
Writer(s)Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
LanguagePersian
CountryDenmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Running Time1HR 56MINS
Extra InfoContains scenes of graphic violence
SeasonBFI London Film Festival at QFT

Ali Abassi’s sophomore feature is a terrifying retelling of the case of the Spider Killer, a serial killer hunting down sex workers in Iran.

Mashhad, early 2000s. Despite being the country’s holy city, its residents are ill at ease. A serial killer is on the prowl, targeting sex workers and reporting their crimes – as well as the location of his victims’ bodies, wrapped in rugs – to a local newspaper.

When no-nonsense journalist Rahimi is transferred to the paper following a misogyny-related scandal at her last workplace, she immediately immerses herself into the city’s underbelly. Journeying deeper into the case, humanising the murdered women and attempting to navigate the city’s complex judicial system, Rahimi discovers that some don’t believe the Spider Killer’s actions to be crimes...

With blistering intent, Abbasi (Border, LFF 2019) reconfigures the tropes of the serial-killer genre, creating a film that not only grapples with the attempt to bring a criminal to justice but examines what really stands for ‘justice’ in this world.

Please note: this festival screening will start promptly at the advertised time and will not include ads or trailers.

Presented as part of the 66th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express.
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