WYOMISSING, Pa. — As part of the "Global Oscars Comes to Berks" series, Penn State Berks will present the film "Holy Spider” at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, in room 5 of the Luerssen Science Building. The presentation is free and open to the public.
“Holy Spider,” a Danish-Iranian film directed by Ali Abbasi, follows a journalist who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad and investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so-called “Spider Killer.” The film’s plot is based on the true story of serial killer Saeed Hanaei.
“Holy Spider” was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award. The film was also shortlisted for International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
The "Global Oscars Comes to Berks" series traditionally shows four of the year’s five finalists for Best Foreign Language / Best International Film Award at the Academy Awards. This year, however, the Global Studies Program will show four of the most popular and well-received films of the nearly 40 films showcased this past decade, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the film series.
The next film in this semester's Global Oscars series will be “Cairo Conspiracy” on Oct. 10.
The Global Oscars Series is presented by the Penn State Berks global studies baccalaureate degree program and the division of humanities, arts, and social sciences. For more information, contact Kirk Shaffer, professor of Latin American studies, at 610-396-6258, or via email at krs14@psu.edu.
About the Penn State Berks Global Studies degree program
The bachelor of arts in global studies program offered by Penn State Berks is designed for students who are interested in a liberal arts degree with a concentration in global studies. Students engage in active and collaborative classroom experiences in addition to intensive study abroad and internships. Graduates are well prepared for employment in a wide range of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, industries and businesses.