Jafar Panahi, the 64-year-old Iranian filmmaker, has been honored with the Palme d’Or, the highest accolade at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The prestigious award was presented for his drama film, It Was Just an Accident, which draws inspiration from his six-year imprisonment and his protracted conflict with the Iranian government.
Panahi was initially arrested in March 2010, facing charges of propaganda against the Iranian government. Fast forward to 2025, accepting the Palme d’Or, he declared, “Let’s put all the problems, all the differences aside; the most important thing right now is our country and our country’s freedom.” Panahi further emphasized, “Let’s reach that moment together when no one dares to tell us what we should completely include, what we should say, what we shouldn’t do … Cinema is a society. No one has the right to tell us what you should do, what you shouldn’t do.”
Meanwhile, jury president Juliette Binoche lauded It Was Just an Accident, stating that the film “really stood out.” Of Jafar Panahi’s work, she remarked, “It’s very human and political at the same time because he comes from a complicated country, politically speaking … The film springs from a feeling of resistance, survival, which is absolutely necessary today. So we thought it was important to give this film the paramount award.”
