We never dared': Cannes winner says Iran's next revolution will be femaleIranian actress Zar Amir who was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, said next revolution will be brought on by women
by Agence France-Presse
26-06-2022 19:50
in Entertainment
Iranian actress and director, awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, poses during a photo session in Paris on 21 June, 2022. Photo; JOEL SAGET / AFP
Iran's next revolution will be brought on by women taking back the freedoms denied to them in the Islamic republic, said Zar Amir Ebrahimi, the winner of this year's Best Actress award at Cannes.
--
Amir Ebrahimi took the prize for her role in Holy Spider as a journalist in Iran who investigates a serial killer murdering prostitutes, and who has to contend with a deeply misogynistic society placing many obstacles in her way.
ALSO READ: Ukrainians take part in LGBTQ rights movement in Poland
2022 BEST ACTRESS AT CANNES But in contrast to the movie's hopelessly grim take on attitudes towards women in Iran which became an Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah Amir Ebrahimi said she was now detecting signs that women were finally fighting back.
--
If there ever is another revolution in Iran, it will be a revolution by women,
she said in an interview with AFP. Women are fighting to keep the few rights they have in this society. They are rolling up their sleeves and they dress differently. They go out and sing, and form clandestine dance groups. There has been so much pressure on us, we're ready to explode. That's why I have hope. Change has to happen,
she said. ALSO READ: Kagame defends Rwanda on rights as Commonwealth expands
We never dared Young women were even daring to defy the decades-old law that makes loose clothing and a headscarf compulsory for women in public, she said.
We never dared take off the headscarf in the street, said the 41-year-old actress, but the young generation, they do.
Directed by Danish-Iranian Ali Abbasi, Holy Spider is inspired by the true story of a working-class man who killed prostitutes in the early 2000s and became known as the Spider Killer .
--
Abbasi was denied permission to film in Iran and it was ultimately shot in Jordan.
Amir Ebrahimi said she herself has first-hand experience of unequal treatment of women in Iran.
She became a star in her early twenties for her supporting role in one of the country's longest-running soap operas, Nargess , but saw her life and career fall apart when a sex tape featuring her and her boyfriend was leaked online in 2006.
Amir Ebrahimi initially denied being on the tape, acknowledging only years later that it had been really her.
Her boyfriend had nothing to do with the leak, she told AFP.
We were very much in love,
she said, blaming instead a mutual friend with access to our computer for releasing the footage. Intimate recordings of celebrities are big business in Iran, she said, estimating that the tape featuring her raked in some $3 million on the black market.
The high-profile case was taken on personally by Tehran's chief prosecutor, and the leak's author put on trial and punished.
Like in the film' But far from getting the public support she hoped for, Amir Ebrahimi herself was shunned by her acting colleagues who felt she had endangered Iranian cinema , and found public opinion to be firmly on the side of the man who had leaked the tape.
It was like in the film, where the killer becomes a hero, she said. This shows a sick society, a society that is not accustomed to recognising women.
She added: That is exactly what the government always wants, that everybody becomes everybody else's enemy.
But Amir Ebrahimi said she holds no resentment towards Iranian society.
Even though it destroyed me, I understand that we are all victims of tradition and of a religious society.
Amir Ebrahimi left Iran during the scandal, traumatised , and now lives in Paris.
It's not easy to start from scratch when you've already known success, she said. You arrive somewhere and you don't even speak the language. I took the metro and couldn't understand a word.
Finding acting work was not easy in her newly-adopted country where film professionals usually wanted to type-cast her.
They see me as a refugee, of course. Or an immigrant, of course. It's rare that I get other offers,
she said. This is likely to change after her global success a month ago at Cannes, the world's biggest film festival.
The prize changes everything. I now get so many messages I can't answer them all, she smiled. I'm happy.
Agence France-Presse
#CelebratingLegends with the HUAWEI P50. READ MORE!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
02/03/2026
NBC Sports selected Imaginary Forces to create the main title sequence for the M...
02/03/2026
The NFL announces the launch of the NFL Draft Innovation Challenge, a new crowds...
02/03/2026
The World Teleport Association (WTA) has named Skyline Communications' DataMiner SatOps solution as a finalist for the 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year ...
02/03/2026
Ventum Tech announces a strategic partnership with Pixotope, a real-time graphic...
02/03/2026
Victory , a free, ad-supported sports streaming service, announces the launch of...
02/03/2026
Global powerhouse Delta Goodrem to represent Australia at this year's Eurovi...
02/03/2026
SBS brings together prominent voices to discuss rising social division and seek ...
02/03/2026
NITV Unveils Wednesday Night Sport Night
Media releases
A Midweek Hub for Blak Sport
Flagship NRL program Over The Black Dot moves to Wednesdays at 9:30pm
...
02/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...
02/03/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...
02/03/2026
Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...
02/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...
02/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...
02/03/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...
02/03/2026
ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...
02/03/2026
To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...
02/03/2026
Douglas Dubler
On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...
02/03/2026
ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...
02/03/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...
02/03/2026
Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...
02/03/2026
02 03 2026 - Media release Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative
Ausfilm and Screen Australia have announced Partner with Australia (...
02/03/2026
Monday 2 March 2026
Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team
L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...
02/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 53 Sundays, the New Film by Cesc Gay
Entertainment
02 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Dis...
28/02/2026
With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...
28/02/2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/02/2026
Berklee Presents Mambo Mania: Eguie Castrillo and the Berklee All-Stars Big Band...
28/02/2026
Berklee Announces Two New Summer Programs in Los Angeles The Berklee Music Business Program and Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Workshop bring imme...
28/02/2026
AI-RAN is moving from lab to field, showing that a software-defined approach is ...
28/02/2026
Autonomous networks - intelligent, self-managing telecommunications operations -...
28/02/2026
Back to All News
Final Trailer for BEASTARS Final Season Part 2' Roars Tow...
28/02/2026
New way to intentionally discover molecular glues could expand drug discovery Scripps Research scientists and colleagues show how drugs that eliminate certain d...
27/02/2026
The E.W. Scripps Company names Oliver Gray as Vice President, Network Sports and...
27/02/2026
The Gotham Sports App, the exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming home of MSG Networks and the YES Network, is now available for purchase through Prime Video fo...
27/02/2026
ESPN and the Horizon League announce a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement, continuing a 38-year collaboration that began with the 1988 Midwes...
27/02/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, NETGEAR will highlight its new switch models and major updates to its Engage Controller software. The company's network d...
27/02/2026
Riedel Communications announces that Fondazione Teatro alla Scala has deployed a...
27/02/2026
Lyuno specializes in media localization, including translation, dubbing, subtitling, and voice-over services for a wide array of entertainment content. The comp...
27/02/2026
Chyron Weather 2.3, the latest edition of Chyron's weather visualization suite for broadcasters and meteorologists, recently launched.
The release includes...
27/02/2026
Telestream, which concentrates in media workflow technologies, announces expanded practical AI enhancements across its Vantage, Vantage Cloud, EDC, Stanza, and ...
We never dared': Cannes winner says Iran's next revolution will be femaleIranian actress Zar Amir who was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, said next revolution will be brought on by women
