In the city of Mashhad, Iran, between 2000 and 2001, a seemingly uneventful mason murdered 16 prostitutes. These feminicides were in his eyes only a legitimate means of purging the holy city of “debauchery”. In the impactful Mashhad Nights (Where holy spider), Ali Abbasi returns to this sordid news item, but he does so from the point of view of a fictional journalist who tries to confuse the murderer. Its interpreter, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, known as “Zar”, rightly won the Best Actress Award at Cannes. We caught up with her earlier this fall during her appearance at TIFF, and it appears that her own story is not without its horrors.
Since its premiere, the film has only grown in relevance, even urgency, as protesters’ anger towards the mullahs’ regime over the death of Mahsa Amini continues unabated.
“I knew about the ‘Spider’ case. [surnom donné au tueur en Iran] : I was living in Iran at the time, and I was going to university when these murders occurred”, explains Zar Amir Ebrahimi, actress and director of Iranian origin naturalized French.
She plays Rahimi, a journalist determined, firstly, to convince the authorities of the existence of a serial killer, and, secondly, to trap him at the risk of his life. However, Zar Amir Ebrahimi was not to play in the film at the start: she was rather the director of cast.
“I was in Paris, and a producer friend contacted me to explain that Ali Abbasi was looking for someone to help him find the actors for his next film, especially an Iranian actress. I applied for the position of director of castbecause I know everyone, and also because I am quite critical of the directors of cast who often choose performers of Iranian origin, but who grew up in Europe or the United States. It’s not the same: they have an accent and a gesture that doesn’t match. »
A meeting with the scenario writer was arranged, and it turned out that he was of the same opinion as Zar Amir Ebrahimi.
“I suggested to him that we mix professional and non-professional actors, to give a documentary side to his film; He liked it, and I started my research with that in mind. »
A very real risk
Finding an actress for the role of Rahimi, the heroine, proved difficult. The process took three years, including the pandemic.
“I couldn’t go back to Iran, but Ali could. »
For the record, Zar Amir Ebrahimi was banned from Iranian television and cinema in 2008, in the wake of a case of “ sextape Ourdie, she always argued, by a vindictive ex-lover.
“So I planned everything for him from a distance,” she says.
It must be understood that all the actresses approached feared reprisals in Iran, so they declined the proposal one after the other. Zar Amir Ebrahimi ends up finding one ready to defy the possible opprobrium of the Iranian regime.
“It was a project that put people at risk. »
Here, Zar Amir Ebrahimi absolutely does not give in to hyperbole. As an indication, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Orientation of Iran condemned the selection of the film at Cannes, then the Interpretation Prize given to Zar Amir Ebrahimi, affirming that it was not a question in both cases than political postures.
“If people from inside Iran are involved in the film holy spiderthey will surely be punished by the Iranian Cinema Organization”, promised the Minister of Culture, Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili.
To continue Zar Amir Ebrahimi: “So we had this young actress from Tehran who had agreed to go and shoot in Jordan [le film sera finalement tourné en Turquie], because it was obviously out of the question to film in Iran. »
Except that at the last minute, said young actress withdrew. “I was mad at her, but I figured it out, of course. She was putting her life in danger and should have left Iran forever after that movie, and she wasn’t ready for that. »
Systemic misogyny
Thus, it was out of necessity, and not out of a desire to shine, that Zar Amir Ebrahimi found himself in front of the camera wearing the film. A film whose subject is not the investigation as such – the identity of the killer is known from the outset – but more the systemic misogyny which allows this kind of serial feminicide to pass under the radar. It is the same misogyny of the authorities, of the institutions and, this explaining that, of many citizens that thwarts the subsequent efforts of someone like Rahimi to expose these crimes in broad daylight.
During the presentation of the film at TIFF, we wrote in this regard:
“The most disturbing scenes, apart from those of the feminicides shown in all their hateful horror, concern the family of the assassin. There is his wife, who, in tune with a large part of the population at the time, approves of her husband’s actions, judging that these “impure” women deserved to be eradicated: internalized misogyny. There is his young son, who, for Rahimi’s benefit, recreates in gruesome detail the modus operandi of his father by enlisting the services of his younger sister to play the victim: transmitted misogyny. It’s blood-curdling, but the much-needed message gets through. »
Zar Amir Ebrahimi opines: “It’s a patriarchal society, and the misogyny that reigns there stems from that. »
This company, she knew it well before leaving it definitively. Her background was invaluable to her when Ali Abbasi and she agreed to flesh out the motivations of Rahimi’s character.
“We wondered: why is she taking this risk? Why is she super feminist? I connected to myself, to my story, to my life; to all those years in Iran… My memories of the government, of this authority… The harassment…”
linked to them
In order to prepare, Zar Amir Ebrahimi further discussed with several journalists, and what she learned troubled her.
“I experienced violence, terrible things that I couldn’t even confide in my family, let alone the authorities, but I had always believed that journalists had a voice. That is to say, they couldn’t be intimidated easily. However, this is false, especially for women journalists, who experience a lot of harassment, and not only in Iran. »
These revelations, far from discouraging her, on the contrary allowed Zar Amir Ebrahimi to better understand his character.
“To learn that, it oddly helped me for the role, because, again, it brought me back to my own experience. And suddenly, it became logical for this character, this journalist, to be so interested in the fate of these prostitutes, these sex workers, these women. Because she feels connected to them. Their death is also his death; it is the death of all of us. »
The film Mashhad Nights opens November 18.