# Ali Abbasi (director)

Ali Abbasi (Persian: علی عباسی, born 1981) is an Iranian-Danish filmmaker. He is known for his films Shelley (2016), Border (2018), Holy Spider (2022), and The Apprentice (2024). Abbasi also directed the last two episodes of the first season of the series The Last of Us. He has received various accolades, including an Un Certain Regard award, four Robert Awards, and a German Film Award, in addition to nominations for seven European Film Awards, a Goya Award, and two Guldbagge Awards.

## Early life

Abbasi attended Tehran Polytechnic until 2002, when he emigrated to Sweden to study architecture at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. After earning his bachelor of arts in 2007, he enrolled at the National Film School of Denmark, earning a degree in 2011 with the short film M for Markus.
Abbasi lives in Copenhagen and continues to hold an Iranian passport.

## Career
### 2018: Border

In 2018, Abbasi premiered his second film, Border. It won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival, was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Although the film didn't get a nomination in that category, it earned a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

### 2022: Holy Spider

His third feature film, Holy Spider, came out in 2022 and was a Persian-language co-production between Sweden, Denmark, France, and Germany. Based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer who targeted sex workers and killed sixteen women from 2000 to 2001 in Mashhad, Iran, the film depicts a fictional female journalist investigating a serial killer.
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered on 22 May 2022. Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who starred in the film, won the festival's Best Actress Award. The film was selected as the Danish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and made the December shortlist.

### 2024: The Apprentice

Abbasi's latest film, The Apprentice, a portrait of a young Donald Trump, premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Several distribution contracts are in place for the United States, the Middle East, Asia, South America, as well as Eastern and Western Europe.

### Groping allegation

In February 2025, Abbasi was accused of groping an unnamed actor at a Golden Globes after-party hosted by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Shortly after, Abbasi released a statement apologizing for what he described as a "slap on the rear", claiming it was not sexual. Initial reports suggested that Abbasi was dropped by his own representatives at CAA as well as by his management and legal teams, due to the incident, but Abbasi clarified in his apology that he himself had ended those relationships in "a long-term career decision".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2008 | Officer Relaxing After Duty | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2010 | In the Darkness Is the Light | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2011 | M for Markus | Yes | Yes | Short film, also editor |
| 2016 | Shelley | Yes | Yes | |
| 2018 | Border | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Holy Spider | Yes | Yes | Also co-producer |
| 2024 | The Apprentice | Yes | No | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Episode/s | Director | Writer | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | "When We Are in Need", "Look for the Light" | Yes | No | 2 episodes | |

## Critical reception

| Year | Title | Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| 2016 | Shelley | Shelley | 92% | 62 |
| 2018 | Border | Border | 97% | 75 |
| 2022 | Holy Spider | Holy Spider | 84% | 66 |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | "When We Are in Need" | 96% | 84 |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | "Look for the Light" | 89% | 84 |
| 2024 | The Apprentice | The Apprentice | 83% | 64 |

## Awards and nominations

Name of award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee, and nomination result :
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| Bodil Awards | 2017 | Best Danish Film | Shelley | Nominated |
| Bodil Awards | 2019 | Best Non-American Film | Border | Nominated |
| Bodil Awards | 2023 | Best Danish Film | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Bodil Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Holy Spider | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2018 | Un Certain Regard | Border | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2022 | Palme d'Or | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Cannes Film Festival | 2024 | Palme d'Or | The Apprentice | Nominated |
| Chicago International Film Festival | 2018 | Gold Hugo | Border | Nominated |
| Cork International Film Festival | 2018 | Spirit of the Festival Award | Border | Won |
| Denver International Film Festival | 2018 | Krzysztof Kieslowski Award | Border | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2018 | Best Film | Border | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2018 | Best Screenwriter | Border | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2018 | Best Director | Border | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2019 | Lux Award | Border | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2022 | Best Film | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2022 | Best Screenwriter | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2022 | Best Director | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Fantastic Fest | 2022 | Best Director | Holy Spider | Won |
| German Film Award | 2023 | Best Director | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| German Film Award | 2023 | Best Film in Bronze | Holy Spider | Won |
| Goya Awards | 2020 | Best European Film | Border | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Awards | 2019 | Best Director | Border | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Awards | 2019 | Best Screenplay | Border | Nominated |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2018 | Best International Film – Honorable Mention | Border | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2022 | Best International Film | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Los Angeles Film Festival | 2018 | Best World Fiction Film | Border | Won |
| Munich Film Festival | 2018 | CineVision Award | Border | Nominated |
| Norwegian International Film Festival | 2018 | Film Critics Award | Border | Won |
| Oslo Films from the South Festival | 2022 | Silver Mirror Award | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2019 | Directors to Watch | Border | Won |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2019 | Best Foreign Language Film | Border | Nominated |
| Robert Awards | 2017 | Best Original Screenplay | Shelley | Nominated |
| Robert Awards | 2019 | Best Non-American Film | Shelley | Won |
| Robert Awards | 2023 | Best Danish Film | Holy Spider | Won |
| Robert Awards | 2023 | Best Director | Holy Spider | Won |
| Robert Awards | 2023 | Best Original Screenplay | Holy Spider | Won |
| San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival | 2018 | Blogos de Oro for Best Feature | Border | Won |
| Seville European Film Festival | 2022 | Golden Giraldillo | Holy Spider | Nominated |
| Stockholm Film Festival | 2022 | Bronze Horse | Holy Spider | Won |
| Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 2022 | DDA Spotlight Award | Holy Spider | Won |
| Transilvania International Film Festival | 2016 | Transilvania Trophy | Shelley | Nominated |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 2018 | Golden Spike | Border | Nominated |