"Are we really interested in the story of a serial killer? Or are we interested in the story of a serial killer society? We opted for the latter."

Holy Spider follows a journalist (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) on her quest for justice against the "Spider Killer," a serial killer targeting sex workers in Mashhad, Iran. In this exclusive interview with director Ali Abbasi (Border, Shelley, M for Markus), he explains the inspiration behind the dark and thrilling tale — and the impact that Ebrahimi's personal experiences had in shaping it.

See this TIFF '22 title starting November 18 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.