Zar Amir Ebrahimi

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In this Persian name, the family name is Amir Ebrahimi.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi
File:ZahraAmirEbrahimiParis.jpg
Amir Ebrahimi in 2016
Born Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
(1981-07-09) July 9, 1981 (age 42)
Tehran, Iran
Citizenship
  • Iran
  • France
Alma mater Azad University
Occupation
  • Actress
  • producer
  • director
Years active 1999–present

Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (Persian: زهرا اميرابراهيمی‎‎; born July 9, 1981) known professionally as Zar Amir Ebrahimi (زر امیرابراهیمی), is an Iranian-French[lower-alpha 1] actress, producer and director. She is best known for her performance as journalist Arezoo Rahimi in the crime thriller Holy Spider (2022), for which she won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. She is also a producer and host for the BBC and oversees a cultural program for the Persian branch of BBC World.

In 2022, Amir Ebrahimi appeared on BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women of the year.[2]

Early life

Zahra Amir Ebrahimi was born on July 9, 1981 in Tehran, Iran.[3][4] She studied theater in Azad University and started her professional career by making short films.[4]

She speaks Persian, Pashto, English and French fluently, and knows basic Arabic, German and Italian.[4]

Career

1999–2004: Career beginnings

Amir Ebrahimi started her career by directing her first short film, Khat (2000), when she was only eighteen.[4] In the same year, she starred in Reza Keshavarz's play Water, which was performed in the 19th Fajr Theatre Festival.[5]

In 2001, Amir Ebrahimi made her feature film debut in Waiting, directed by Mohammad Nourizad.[4] The same year, she acted in Ayat Najafi's play Sleepy Noon at the Niavaran Cultural Center of Téhéran.[4]

In 2003, Amir Ebrahimi starred in two plays, Rahman Seifi Azad's Gathering in Hell and Reza Hadad's There Is No One Who Can Remember All the Stories.[4][5] Both were performed at the 22nd Fajr Theatre Festival.[4][5] There Is No One Who Can Remember All the Stories was also performed at the Lakoon Theatre Festival in Hamburg.[5]

In 2004, she appeared in three television projects, Help Me, Like a Stranger and Vow.[4] The first two, which are television series, were directed by Ghasem Jafari and the last one, which is a television film, was directed by Mehrdad Khoshbakht. All three projects were broadcast in different networks.[4]

2006: Rising popularity through Nargess

In 2006, Amir Ebrahimi starred in the hit television series Nargess directed by Sirous Moghaddam.[4] The series was one of the most successful series of the year and during its airing, Amir Ebrahimi became very popular.[6] The series later won the Hafez Award for Best Television Series.[7] The same year, Amir Ebrahimi starred in the critically acclaimed drama film Trip to Hidalou, directed by Mojtaba Raie.[4] The film premiered at the 34th Fajr Film Festival and won the Best Art & Experience Film award.[8]

Months after the final episode of Nargess was broadcast, Amir Ebrahimi became the center of a national scandal when a homemade sex tape purportedly featuring her was leaked to the internet.[9][10] Due to the scandal, she was banned from appearing in Iranian films and television for 10 years.[9] Trip to Hidalou was also banned from screening due to the scandal and was never released.[11]

2008–2019: Emigration and new projects

After Amir Ebrahimi was in danger of being imprisoned, she fled Iran and moved to Paris, France in 2008. Months before her emigration, she had a small role in Abbas Kiarostami's 2008 film Shirin,[4] which premiered at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.[12]

In 2009, she started over her acting career in France with Mohamad Rezaierad's play Silent Taheregan's Dream, alongside Shabnam Tolouei.[4] She also appeared in the film Women Without Men, directed by Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari, which won the Silver Lion at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.[4]

In 2010, Amir Ebrahimi starred in Tinouche Nazmjou's play Voices of Women / Voices of Blood at Théâtre Pentu et Parole Avalancheuse, Théâtre de l'Épée de Bois and Festival de l'arpenteur in Grenoble.[4]

In 2011, she appeared in the television documentary Great Persians, directed by Wesley Eremenko-Dodd and broadcast by BBC World Service.[4]

In 2012, she starred in Ebrahim Makki's play The Land of Fear and Hope at Salle Ayad Paris. She also acted in Hamid Djavdan's play Little Red Boy (2014–2015) at La Compagnie des Mirages.

In 2015, Amir Ebrahimi acted in two short films, A Souvenir for My Mother and Jila directed by Iranian directors Mohammad Reza Kalani and Karim Lakzadeh.[5] She also did voice acting in Arte's Silex and the City from 2015 to 2017.[4]

She got her first leading role by starring as Vida Irandoost in the Swedish drama film Bride Price vs. Democracy (2016) directed by Reza Rahimi.[4] For her performance in the film, she won the award for Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Nice International Film Festival and received two other nominations.[4]

In 2017, she played Sara in the German-Austrian film Tehran Taboo, directed by Ali Soozandeh, which used rotoscoping technique and premiered at the International Critics' Week section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[13]

In 2018, Amir Ebrahimi worked in four television projects. She did the voice acting of Siri Perse and Ishtar in Arte's animated television series 50 Shades of Greek from 2018 to 2020.[4] She directed two television documentaries for BBC World Service and BBC Persian, titled Amir Naderi by Amir Naderi and Kahani's Cinema. Her last television project of 2018 was Arte's television documentary One Day in Tehran, directed by five Iranian directors.[4]

In 2019, Amir Ebrahimi created her own production company, Alambic Production.[14][15] She is also a producer and host for the BBC and oversees a cultural program for the Persian branch of BBC World.[14]

In 2019, she appeared in two feature films, a short film and a television program. She acted as Farzaneh Rezvani in the French film Adopt a Daddy by Xavier de Choudens; as Nadia in Hossein Pourseifi's film Tomorrow We Are Free premiered at the 2019 Filmfest Hamburg; as Alma in Manon Coubia's short film Tide, premiered at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival, and as herself in the three episodes of BBC World Service's 40 Years, 40 Films directed by Bibi Khajehnouri.[4]

In March 2019, along with Golshifteh Farahani, she received the Hamburg Award for Cultural Freedom at the Persian Spring Festival in Germany, for the exemplary nature of her fight and her itinerary as an artist and independent Iranian woman.[16]

Amir Ebrahimi is also a professional photographer, whose work focuses on social topics and issues.[17]

2022: Acclaim and worldwide recognition for Holy Spider

In 2022, Amir Ebrahimi directed, produced and also hosted in BBC World Service's documentary Portrait of Women in Iranian Cinema.[4]

Amir Ebrahimi also starred in Ali Abbasi's critically acclaimed thriller Holy Spider (2022), inspired by the true story of Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer who targeted sex workers and killed 16 women from 2000 to 2001 in Iran, in which she played journalist Arezoo Rahimi and won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival,[18] becoming the first Iranian actress to win the award.[19][20] Her performance garnered widespread critical acclaim. Variety critic, Clayton Davis, said "both lead actors (Amir Ebrahimi and Mehdi Bajestani) are worthy of Academy attention".[21] She won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Seville European Film Festival,[22] and 2023 Robert Awards.[23] Amir Ebrahimi earned a Best Actress nomination at the 35th European Film Awards[24] for her performance. She also worked as a casting director and associate producer on the film,[25] which was selected as Denmark's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[20]

Following her win at the Cannes Film Festival, the Cinema Organization of Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance issued a statement condemning the festival for awarding Amir Ebrahimi the Best Actress award, calling it "an insulting and politically-motivated move".[26] Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili also threatened to punish Iranians who worked on Holy Spider.[27] Amir Ebrahimi told CNN in June 2022 that she had received around 200 threats since winning the award at Cannes.[19]

The same year, she had a leading role in the French thriller film White Paradise, directed by Guillaume Renusson.[4] The film premiered at the 2022 Angoulême Film Festival in August 2022.[28]

In December 2022, Amir Ebrahimi appeared on BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women of the year.[2]

2023: Upcoming projects

Amir Ebrahimi played the title role in Noora Niasari's directional debut, Shayda, executive produced by Cate Blanchett.[29] The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in the World Dramatic Competition.[30]

It was announced that Amir Ebrahimi will be starring in the short film Please Rise directed by Sheida Sheikhha.[31][32]

From 27 January to 5 February 2023,[33] Amir Ebrahimi will head the jury of the Nordic competition at Sweden's Gothenburg Film Festival. She will also lead a manifestation in support of actress Taraneh Alidoosti and the people of Iran who have been threatened by the government, arrested or sentenced to prison as they protested against the oppressive Iranian regime.[34]

Amir Ebrahimi starred in the Mehran Tamadon's documentary My Worst Enemy, which will have its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival's Encounters section.[35]

Other activities

Politics and activism

Amir Ebrahimi has publicly supported the protests led by Iranian women following the death of Mahsa Amini under suspicious circumstances after being arrested by Iran's Guidance Patrol for not wearing a hijab in accordance with government standards in September 2022, and often shares on her social media the news about the protests and how people can help Iranian women.[36][37][38]

Personal life

Sex tape scandal

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Main article: Iranian sex tape scandal

In 2006, Amir Ebrahimi became the center of an Iranian sex tape scandal when a videotape of a woman, claimed to be Ebrahimi, having sex with a man was leaked to the internet and released on DVD. She subsequently became the subject of an official investigation handled by Tehran's chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi. In an interview with The Guardian, Amir Ebrahimi denied being the woman in the film and dismissed it as a forgery made by a vengeful former fiancé who used studio techniques to form a montage of incriminating images designed to destroy her career.[39] However, she later admitted that the tape depicted her and a boyfriend and had been stolen from their apartment.[9] The unnamed man on the tape reportedly fled to Armenia but was subsequently returned to Iran and charged with breach of public morality laws.[39] Rumours of an attempted suicide were also denied by Amir Ebrahimi with a public message: "I just want to tell my country's people that I am alive. I am thinking about the strength of Iranian women and will defend the respect of the girls and women of my nation."[40]

Due to the sex tape scandal, Amir Ebrahimi was banned from appearing in Iranian films and television for 10 years,[20] and was also sentenced to prison and ninety-nine lashes, which made her flee Iran and move to Paris, France, where she has lived in exile since 2008.[1][9] The man who leaked the tape—a friend of Amir Ebrahimi's and fellow actor who did not feature in it—was sentenced to six years in prison, but was released after two months.[20]

In France, she was able to rely upon the support of other Iranian exiles, such as her close friend Golshifteh Farahani.[41] Amir Ebrahimi became a French citizen in 2017.[1][9][42]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref(s)
2000 Khat Zar Amir Ebrahimi Short film [4]
2001 Waiting Mohammad Nourizad [43]
2006 Trip to Hidalou Mojtaba Raie [44]
2008 Shirin Woman in audience Abbas Kiarostami [45]
2009 Women Without Men Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari [46]
2015 A Souvenir for My Mother Mohammad Reza Kalani Short film [47]
Jila Karim Lakzadeh Short film [48]
2016 Bride Price vs. Democracy Vida Irandoost Reza Rahimi [49]
2017 Tehran Taboo Sara Ali Soozandeh [50]
2019 Adopt a Daddy Farzaneh Rezvani Xavier de Choudens [4]
Tide Alma Manon Coubia Short film [51]
Tomorrow We Are Free Nadia Hossein Pourseifi [52]
2022 Holy Spider Arezoo Rahimi Ali Abbasi Also as associate producer and casting director [53]
White Paradise Chehreh Guillaume Renusson [54]
2023 Shayda Shayda Noora Niasari [29]
My Worst Enemy Mehran Tamadon Documentary [35]
TBA Untitled Judo Maryam Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi [6]
TBA Please Rise The Poet Sheida Sheikhha Short film

Television

Year Title Role Director Notes Network Ref(s)
2004 Vow Mehrdad Khoshbakht TV film IRIB TV1 [55]
Help Me Ghasem Jafari TV series IRIB TV2 [56]
Like a Stranger Ghasem Jafari TV series IRIB TV5 [4][57]
2006 Nargess Zohreh Shokat Sirous Moghaddam TV series IRIB TV3 [58]
2011 Great Persians Herself Wesley Eremenko-Dodd TV documentary, host BBC World Service [4]
2015–2017 Silex and the City Several (voice) Jul TV series Arte [4]
2018–2020 50 Shades of Greek Siri Perse and Ishtar (voice) Jul, Mathieu Signolet, Jean-Paul Guigue TV series Arte [4]
2018 Amir Naderi by Amir Naderi Zar Amir Ebrahimi TV documentary, as director and producer BBC World Service, BBC Persian [4]
Kahani's Cinema Zar Amir Ebrahimi TV documentary, as director and producer BBC World Service, BBC Persian [4]
One Day in Tehran Herself (voice) Hamid Jafari, Shiva Sanjari, Ebrahim Mokhtari, Zohreh Soleimani and Esmaeel Monsef TV documentary Arte [4]
2019 40 Years, 40 Films Herself Bibi Khajehnouri TV program, host, 3 episodes BBC World Service [4]
2022 Portrait of Women in Iranian Cinema Herself Zar Amir Ebrahimi TV documentary, as director, producer and host BBC World Service [4]

Theatre

Year Title Director Stage Ref.
2000 Water Reza Keshavarz Fajr Theatre Festival [5]
2001 Sleepy Noon Ayat Najafi Niavaran Cultural Center of Téhéran [4][5]
2003 Gathering in Hell Rahman Seifi Azad Fajr Theatre Festival [4][5]
There Is No One Who Can Remember All the Stories Reza Hadad Bazi Theatre Company / Fajr Theatre Festival / Lakoon Theatre Festival - Hamburg [4][5]
2009 Silent Taheregan's Dream Mohamad Rezaierad Université Paris 8 [4][5]
2010 Voices of Women / Voices of Blood Tinouche Nazmjou Théâtre Pentu et Parole Avalancheuse / Théâtre de l'Épée de Bois / Festival de l'arpenteur - Grenoble [4][5]
2012 The Land of Fear and Hope Ebrahim Makki Salle Ayad Paris [4][5]
2014–2015 Little Red Boy Hamid Djavdan La Compagnie des Mirages [4][5]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Amsterdam International Film Festival 2018 Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film Bride Price vs. Democracy Nominated [59]
Cannes Film Festival 2022 Best Actress Holy Spider Won [60]
European Film Awards 2022 Best Actress Holy Spider Nominated [24]
Nice International Film Festival 2018 Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film Bride Price vs. Democracy Won [61]
Robert Awards 2023 Best Actress in a Leading Role Holy Spider Won [62]
Seville European Film Festival 2022 Best Actress Holy Spider Won [22]
Västeras Film Festival 2018 Best National Actress Bride Price vs. Democracy Nominated [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Amir Ebrahimi became a French citizen in 2017.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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