Ali Abbasi’s Iran-set serial killer drama Holy Spider won the Bronze Horse for best film at the 2022 Stockholm International Film Festival.
The film’s lead actor Mehdi Bajestani won best actor for playing Saeed Hanaei, the real serial killer who killed sex workers in Mashhad in 2000 and 2001.
The jury said Holy Spider is “a punch in the gut for systematic belief systems that oppress rather than support. An eye opener and a most emotional cinematic experience that awakens internal revolutions in us.”
Annabelle Lengronne won best actress for Mother And Son.
Frances O’Connor won best director for her debut feature Emily, while Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson won best screenplay for Beautiful Beings.
Best documentary was awarded to Laura Poitras’ All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. Best cinematography honours went to Balthazar Lab for La Jauria.
The Fipresci prize went to World War III by Houman Seyyedi.
During the festival, honorary awards went to Sam Mendes, Fares Fares, and Anthony Hopkins.
Actor Sara Shirpey was the Zalando Rising Star 2022, while director SaraKlara Hellström won the new talent competition 1KM FILM.
The festival’s industry days included a focus on Ukraine as well as several ‘meet the streamers’ talks, plus masterclasses with Ali Abbasi and Tarik Saleh.
Also during the festival, the Swedish Film Institute revealed the winners of its Wild Card funding for three recent film school graduates. They each get $37,600 (SEK 400,000) in funding to shoot a pilot and develop their debut features. They are Simone Norberg for Till Lydia, about a 22-year-old woman in a secret relationship; Tess Quatri for Like There Is No Tomorrow, a Gran Canaria-set drama; and Vangelis Kollias for How to Say Goodbye, which will explore masculinity.
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