Iranian revenge thriller It Was Just an Accident wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
- Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the 2025 Cannes Palme d'Or for his thriller It Was Just an Accident.
- Panahi created the film after his 2023 release from prison and a 20-year ban on travel and filmmaking.
- It Was Just an Accident follows dissidents debating whether to kill or forgive the former torturer they kidnapped.
- Neon acquired Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner, continuing their streak of six consecutive Cannes top prizes.
- Panahi’s victory signals a strong statement against Iran’s regime and confirms Cannes 2025’s highly competitive festival.
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343 Articles
Unpacking the Cannes Palme d’Or win of It Was Just an Accident
Brought to international prominence with his debut, The White Balloon, which won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 1995, Jafar Panahi has since become a central figure in world cinema and a beacon of creative defiance. His arrest in 2010 and the subsequent 20-year ban on filmmaking, travel, and interviews — punishment for his outspoken political views — did not silence him entirely. Panahi continued making films in secret, often under house arrest an…
Meet all the Cannes Film Festival winners
Jafar Panahi, one of Iran’s most persecuted and admired filmmakers, has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for It was just an accident, a powerful and moving film about justice, forgiveness and memory. Wearing sunglasses and visibly emotional, the director received the award from the jury president, Juliette Binoche, marking the culmination of a life cycle defined by censorship… Source
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