Very moved, the actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi spoke at length on the stage of the Palais des Festivals where Guillaume Canet presented her with the prize for female interpretation for her role in
Les nuits de Mashhad
by Ali Abbasi.
First speaking in Farsi, her mother tongue, the actress made a poignant speech on the condition of women in Iran.
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"I had a very long journey before arriving here on this stage," she said.
“A journey marked by humiliations”.
Born in Tehran in 1981, Zar Amir Ebrahimi became known to the Iranian public for her role in a cult series,
Nargess
(2006).
Without being able to take advantage of her new notoriety, she finds herself implicated in a
sextape
scandal which banishes her from the country's film industry, in addition to making her incur a sentence of nearly a hundred lashes.
Her career compromised, she preferred to leave Iran to settle in France in 2008. She has since played in
Tehran Tabou
(2017) by Ali Soozandeh.
A film that deals with women and their bodies, contrary to a patriarchal Iranian society
Her personal story echoes the theme of the film which saw her enshrined in Cannes.
In
The Nights of Mashhad
, Zar Amir Ebrahimi plays a journalist who investigates the murders of prostitutes committed by a religious fanatic.
His character comes up against the reality of Iranian society, which is conservative and patriarchal.
The actress did not fail to thank her director for having been able to put in images the failings of their country.
“This film is about women, their bodies, this film is filled with hatred, hands, breasts, everything that cannot be shown in Iran.
Thank you Ali Abassi for being so crazy, so generous.
Thank you for such a powerful art”.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi in his acceptance speech after receiving the Best Actress award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival
The actress finished her acceptance speech in French to express her gratitude to her host country and her family.
"I am condemned to freedom in France, I would like my family to be proud of me this evening as I am proud of my parents".