Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi wins Best Actress at Cannes

'Holy Spider', directed by Iranian Ali Abbasi, was inspired by the true story of a serial killer

Powered by automated translation

Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi has been named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Holy Spider, in which she plays a journalist trying to solve a series of murders in the city of Mashhad.

Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund was awarded the festival’s top prize, the Palme d'Or, for Triangle Of Sadness.

Scroll through the gallery above to see all the winners at Cannes Film Festival 2022.

French-Tunisian Adam Bessa won recognition for his acting in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes for his work in Harka.

“I have come a long way to be on this stage tonight,” Ebrahimi said.

“It was not an easy story. It was humiliation, it was solitude, but there was cinema. It was darkness but there was cinema. Now I'm standing in front of you on a night of joy.”

Holy Spider, directed by Iranian Ali Abbasi, is inspired by the true story of a man who killed women in the early 2000s and became known as the Spider Killer.

Scroll through the gallery below for the best fashion from Cannes Film Festival 2022:

Abbasi was denied permission to film in Iran and it was shot in Jordan instead.

Ebrahimi became a star in Iran in her early twenties for her supporting role in one of its longest-running soap operas, Nargess.

“Thank you, Ali Abbasi for being so crazy and so generous and for directing against all odds this powerful thing,” Ebrahimi said. Cinema, she added, has “practically saved my life”.

It is the second time Ostlund, 48, has received the Palme d'Or after The Square in 2017.

French actor Vincent Lindon led the festival's jury, with other members including Rebecca Hall, Deepika Padukone, Noomi Rapace, Jasmine Trinca, Asghar Farhadi, Ladj Ly, Jeff Nichols and Joachim Trier.

A total of 21 films were up for the award, including Crimes of the Future, directed by David Cronenberg, and Armageddon Time by James Gray.

Best Screenplay for 2022 was awarded to Boy From Heaven, directed by Egyptian-Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh, while Song Kang-ho won the Best Actor award for Broker. Park Chan-wook received the Best Director award for Decision to Leave.

52 stars who have worn Lebanese designers on Cannes Film Festival red carpets — in pictures

Updated: May 29, 2022, 6:43 PM