‘Holy Spider’ Director Ali Abbasi Responds To Russia Ban: “The Russian Government Is Returning Favors To Their Islamic Republic Ally”

Melanie Goodfellow
·2 min read
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Iranian director Ali Abbasi has responded to Russia’s unexplained ban of his serial killer thriller Holy Spider just days after its theatrical release.

The move comes amid growing military and economic ties between Russia and Iran with both its ruling regimes currently isolated on the world stage.

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“By banning Holy Spider, the Russian government is returning favors to their ally Islamic Republic who has been arming Russian military to kill innocent civilians in Ukraine,” the director told Deadline.

“I don’t know what kind of law prohibits Holy Spider in Russia but judging the way independent press and dissidents are being treated there, it sure feels like a compliment for us to be banned by Putin’s servants.”

“We the makers of Holy Spider sincerely thank both governments for their tireless effort of promoting Holy Spider free of charge. Please keep up the good work.”

Abbasi’s Cannes 2022 Palme d’Or contender explores misogyny and social injustice in Iran through the true story of a serial killer who murdered 16 sex workers in the early 2000s in the shrine city of Mashhad.

Moscow-based Exponenta Film released the film in Russia on May 11 but less than a week later the Ministry of Culture withdrew the film’s distribution license.

The ministry said the ban was related to material in the film “containing information whose dissemination is prohibited by the legislation of the Russian Federation.”

Producer Sol Bondy at Berlin-based One Two Films said the ban was the latest in a long line of obstacles and censorship issues faced by the production.

“First Turkey prevented us from shooting the film. After the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs checked with the Turkish ambassador in Tehran, we had to move production to Jordan,” he said.

“Now Russia is blocking its distribution. Anyone who has seen the film will agree that it shows nothing extraordinary compared to any European or Hollywood thrillers and that the reality of the people in Iran today is much worse. It’s sad that a country with such a rich film history as Russia has come to this stage.”

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