Russian authorities have suspended the theatrical release of Danish-Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi 's Holy Spider, Exponenta Film, the feature's distributor, said on Tuesday (May 16th). It was released in Russia on May 11, but the Ministry of Culture withdrew its distribution license less than a week later "due to the presence in the film in question" of elements whose distribution is prohibited by the law of the Russian Federation, the ministry said without giving further details.
The film, which was in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, is inspired by the true story of an Iran-Iraq war veteran who killed 16 prostitutes in early 2000 in Mashhad, one of the main holy cities of the Shia Islam. Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi received the Best Actress Award for her role as a journalist investigating these murders.
The Russian shift on Holy Spider comes at a time when Russia and Iran are seeking to strengthen their ties in order to bring Moscow out of its growing isolation since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. As a reminder, Iran had protested against France after the selection of the film at Cannes, describing this decision as "bad and totally political". Ali Abbasi had not had permission to shoot in Iran and had to fall back on Jordan.