Ali Abbasi (Persian: علی عباسی, born 1981) is an Iranian-Swedish-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, nominations for seven European Film Awards, a Goya Award, and two Guldbagge Awards. 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".
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1981 (45)
- Tehran, Iran
- Director, writer and producer
- 6 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Ali Abbasi's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Self.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 4
Steady 1 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ali Abbasi's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Ali Abbasi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page.
The Apprentice(2024)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Last of Us(2023)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Holy Spider(2022)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Home: A Soldier's Mind Is Always at War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Queen of Hearts(2019)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Border(2018)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Mein Maa Nahin Banna Chahti (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Shelley(2016)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
M for Markus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
I mørket er lyset (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Officer Relaxing After Duty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Hamlet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles, 11 of them dated from 2008 to 2024.
Biggest box office
The Apprentice (2024)
Highest rated
Holy Spider (2022)
Most popular right now
The Apprentice (2024)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Ali Abbasi's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 80th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 6 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 83/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ali Abbasi's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Ali Abbasi work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ali Abbasi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Olivia Neergaard-Holm shares the most, 4.
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Olivia Neergaard-HolmShared titles: The Apprentice (2024), Holy Spider (2022), Border (2018), Shelley (2016)See all 4 shared titles with Olivia Neergaard-Holm
- Martin DirkovShared titles: Holy Spider (2022), Border (2018), Shelley (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Martin Dirkov
- Nadim CarlsenShared titles: Holy Spider (2022), Border (2018), Shelley (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Nadim Carlsen
Producers
- Louis TisnéShared titles: The Apprentice (2024), Border (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Louis Tisné
- Ditte MilstedShared titles: Holy Spider (2022), Shelley (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Ditte Milsted
- Eva ÅkergrenShared titles: Holy Spider (2022), Border (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Eva Åkergren
- Jacob JarekShared titles: Holy Spider (2022), Shelley (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Jacob Jarek
