When Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi fled her country in 2006 due to a leaked tape, she thought her career was over. But on Saturday she became the first Iranian to win the best actress award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Ebrahimi rose to fame in her native Iran, but the crowning moment of her career at Cannes came while she was in exile, for a movie that was shot in Jordan.
Directed by Iran-born Ali Abbasi, “Holy Spider” is based on the true story of a serial killer in the holy city of Mashad, Iran. It follows a journalist, Rahimi, as she covers the hunt for a construction worker who was a suspect in the murder of 16 sex workers.
Winning the award “was just like a dream,” she told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Thursday.
The movie touches on the topic of patriarchy, which Rahimi hopes will send “a message of courage, a message of hope, for not only women, but men and women all around the world.”
The win has thrust her back into the limelight in Iran and has caused a backlash. The actress told CNN that she has received around 200 threats. “The problem is that they didn’t even watch this movie, and they are judging this movie, just from a trailer,” she said, attributing the reaction to the lack of freedom of expression in Iran.
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Now in its 75th year, the Cannes red carpet is one of the most revered fashion events on the calendar. Scroll through the gallery to see the best looks from each day of the festival.
Helen Mirren and Andie MacDowell looked stunning as they posed together before the screening of "Mother And Son (Un Petit Frere)."
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LaKeith Stanfield arrived in a suave velvet robe and jeweled brooch.
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While Gemma Chan opted for a risqué lace strapless gown.
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Winnie Harlow attended the screening of "Elvis" in a romantic Off-White gown.
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And Australian actor Olivia DeJonge floated onto the red carpet in a dramatic sea foam Gucci ensemble.
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Also at the "Elvis" premiere was actor Wallis Day, who chose a striking Cucculelli Shaheen metallic cut-out dress.
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While Swedish actor Noomi Rapace turned heads in a Fall-Winter 2022 Dries Van Noten look.
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Margaret Qualley donned a sleek black Chanel dress and tulle skirt for the "Stars at Noon" premiere.
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Izabel Goulart's chic, serpentine gown -- worn to the "Elvis" screening -- was by David Koma.
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While Kaia Gerber channeled '90s minimalism with a red Celine slip dress.
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Priscilla Presley was seen at the "Elvis" red carpet in a brown satin '60s shift dress.
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To the premiere of "The Innocent," Bella Hadid wore a vintage 1987 Versace strapless gown from the designer's archives.
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At the same premiere, actor Lea Seydoux opted for a custom-made black vinyl dress from Louis Vuitton.
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Whereas French actor Adèle Exarchopoulos shone in a custom-made Coperni one-shoulder look, finished with mesh gloves and a gemstone necklace.
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Danish actors Hanne Jacobsen and Mads Mikkelsen arrived in equally dapper suits.
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Isabelle Huppert went full glam in a 1950s-inspired Balenciaga gown.
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British model Jourdan Dunn wore a flouncy, baby pink Ashi Studio frock.
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Mexican model and actor Daniela de Jesus Cosio shone at the "Nostalgia" premiere in a iridescent green cut-out look by Lebanese American designer Rami Kadi.
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Also at the premiere for "The Innocent," French model Jeanne Cadieu caught eyes in a fuchsia pink Fall-Winter 2022 Loewe dress and oversized metallic bow sandals.
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While actor Claire Holt went for a purple sequin strapless gown by Genny Fall.
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Hollywood icon Sharon Stone was the epitome of glamor in a custom Dolce & Gabbana strapless gown, complete with dramatic thigh split, worn to the "Crimes of the Future" screening.
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On the red carpet for "Decision To Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)," Naomi Campbell stole the show in a Valentino haute couture frock covered in feathers.
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For the premiere of "Moonage Daydream" model Soo Joo Park was in full Loewe, wearing the viral balloon bra and mesh printed dress from Fall-Winter 2022.
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Attending the screening of "The Innocent," Maggie Gyllenhaal looked the picture of sophistication in a plunge-neck gown by Lanvin.
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Watching "Crimes of the Future," Chanel ambassador Kristen Stewart donned a haute couture ensemble from the brand, with an embroidered silk tulle top and silk skirt.
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Chinese American model and socialite Jaime Xie arrived in a Marc Jacobs long skirt and bodysuit for the premiere of "Decision To Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)."
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Isabelle Huppert attended the screening of "Forever Young (Les Amandiers)" in an emerald green Balenciaga dress and bodysuit.
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Model Soo Joo Park sported a strappy floor-length gown by London designer Nensi Dojaka for the red carpet of "Three Thousand Years Of Longing."
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Actor Emilia Schüle arrived at the screening of "November (Novembre)" wearing a Loewe ruffle trench coat dress.
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To the screening of "Forever Young (Les Amandiers)" model and actor Iris Law turned heads in a gothic Dior corset and skirt set.
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While supermodel Carla Bruni went for a chocolate brown Saint Laurent maxi dress.
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Anne Hathaway looked ethereal in an Armani Privé column dress at the "Armageddon Time" premiere.
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Whereas Indian actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan arrived in a pearl-toned surrealist gown by Gaurav Gupta.
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Julia Roberts flipped the red carpet script in a super chic Louis Vuitton tuxedo-jumpsuit.
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At the "Top Gun: Maverick" screening, actor Elle Fanning stunned in a blush-toned Armani Privé dress complete with fitted bodice.
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Viola Davis brightened up the event in a canary yellow Alexander McQueen floor-length gown.
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Jennifer Connelly stepped out in a custom-made, off-the-shoulder Louis Vuitton look.
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Deepika Padukone, Indian actress and Jury member of the Official Selection, wore a glittering sari by Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee for the festival's opening ceremony.
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German fashion model Caroline Daur strutted the "Final Cut" carpet in a Fall-Winter 2022-2023 Valentino pink mini dress and matching Valentino platform heels.
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While model Didi Stone arrived in a surrealist Roberto Cavalli outfit, complete with a cage-like top and silk skirt.
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Rebecca Hall glided across the carpet in an embellished, 70s-inspired custom Gucci gown.
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Julianne Moore kept it sleek in a classic, plunge-neck Bottega Veneta dress and Bulgari jewels.
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French journalist and actress Agathe Rousselle wore a striking Louis Vuitton gown and chiffon cape.
Ebrahimi fled Iran for France in 2006 after a “private video” of hers leaked, fearing arrest and lashings from judicial authorities, she said. She had to start her career afresh “in a country where I knew no one.”
“I had to run away from my country, from my home. I left my friends and family behind,” she told CNN. But she refused to let the scandal mar her career. “From exactly the day after that scandal happened to me, I just talked about cinema, I just thought that I am alive, and I need to work. And you know, I will be alive because I have cinema, because I love my work, because I love life.”
Ebrahimi said her next film will be shot in Australia. She has no plans to return to her homeland.