Cannes' top prize goes to It Was Just An Accident by Iran's Jafar Panahi
By
Miranda Murray
, Reuters
Iranian director and screenwriter and producer Jafar Panahi poses with the trophy during a photocall after winning the Palme d'Or for the film "Un simple accident" (A Simple Accident) during the closing ceremony at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2025.
Photo:
AFP/BERTRAND GUAY
Revenge thriller
It Was Just An Accident
by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran, won the Palme d'Or top prize.
With the award, Panahi now has the rare honour of winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after nabbing Berlin's Golden Bear for
Taxi
in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for
The Circle
in 2000.
The 64-year-old director, who last attended the festival in person in 2003, addressed his prize to all Iranians, saying the most important thing was Iran and the country's freedom.
"Hoping that we will reach a day when no one will tell us what to wear or not wear, what to do or not do," he said, in an apparent reference to Iran's strict Islamic dress code for women.
The death in 2022 of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules sparked Iran's biggest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution that brought its clerical rulers to power.
Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times in Iran, plans to return to his country after the festival, he told Reuters.
"Win or not, I was going to go back either way. Don't be afraid of challenges," said the director who made films illegally during the 15-year ban that was recently lifted.
Panahi added that he would never forget his first day at this year's festival, and getting to watch the film with an audience after all those years: "Every moment was thrilling."
It Was Just An Accident
, which follows a garage owner who rashly kidnaps a one-legged man who looks like the one who tortured him in prison and then has to decide his fate, is only the second Iranian film to win, after
Taste of Cherry
in 1997.
"Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life," said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing why they chose Panahi for the award.
Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster.
The closing ceremony, which officially ends the glamour-filled festival, went off without a hitch after the Cannes area was hit by a power outage for several hours.
Sentimental Value
from acclaimed director Joachim Trier received the Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or.
The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama
Sound of Falling
from German director Mascha Schilinski and Sirat, about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe.
Brazil's
The Secret Agent
was handed two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho.
"I was having champagne," said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage again to collect his own award after celebrating the win for Moura, who was not in attendance.
Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for
The Little Sister
, a queer coming-of-age story about the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris.
Belgium's Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d'Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film
Young Mothers
.
Outside the competition line-up, director Spike Lee brought
Highest 2 Lowest
starring Denzel Washington to the festival, while Tom Cruise was in town for what could be his final
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
.
Washington, who was only briefly at the festival, received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or on Monday night.
Robert De Niro had received the same honour, which had been announced in advance, during the opening ceremony on 13 May.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
The search for truth and justice and the destination it might lead us to
A memorial stone in the remembrance garden for the 270 people who died in the Lockerbie air disaster on December 21, 1988. PHOTO: REUTERS The Lockerbie series that is available on TVNZ+ has recently introduced me to the tragic plane crash in 1988 in southwest Scotland. It's a heart-wrenching watch that reveals the devastation and pain that was inflicted upon so many, for so long. Throughout each episode, we follow Jim Swire, whose daughter died in the crash, as he engages in a relentless pursuit of truth and justice. The show draws out a longing for justice and truth. As I watched it, I found myself pulled along with Jim into a journey which seems to take him into the turbulent political realities that sweep our globe. Truth and justice can be complex matters. Lockerbie demonstrates this, to some extent. Revealing truth in one place can apparently cause carnage elsewhere — depending upon the secret moves and deals that might be afoot at any given time. So in a world like ours, shall we despair of ever fully knowing the truth? Although he struggles with this question, Jim nonetheless chooses to fight, with impressive fortitude, so that he may find the answers he's looking for. But what kind of "truth" is worth such disconnection, from family, self, future? What kind of justice locks you so firmly in the past that you miss the people who need you now, as well as new emerging opportunities for bringing flourishing and life? Jim's noble quest reveals a cruel irony. The reality is that his pursuit of the truth comes at a significant cost. In doing his work of justice-making and truth-seeking, he fails to grieve and he neglects to nurture those who love him and who he holds dear. The show brilliantly captures this tension. We want Jim to succeed, no doubt. The victims deserve the truth, the nations need accountability. But, is there a point when seeking the truth becomes its own form of blindness? Sadly, we come to see that in pursuing truth about his daughter's death, Jim increasingly isolates himself from his living family. As time goes on, other aspects of his life fray and fragment. Has he just wasted 20 years, fully by his own foolishness? As a Christian watching this, I'm struck by how Jim's dilemma shines a light on something profound about truth itself. Jesus, who claimed to be truth personified, pursued it through relationship, not despite it. Jesus embodied a different way to live. He spoke truth precisely because of his love for people, not despite loving them. He confronted religious leaders while dining with outcasts. Truth and relationship weren't competing values, they were deeply linked. I believe that Jesus carries a vision which weaves truth and justice together, with love as the binding cord. Relationships are the place where love is meant to flourish, starting with our connection with God, who makes us whole, moving into our relationships with one another, and extending outward in a growing circle of transformation. Like Jim, all of us can and should seize the initiative, seeking truth and justice in the places and communities we live in — and beyond. But we would be wise to realise that bold action alone is not enough. Truth is related to love, as Jim began to discover once again. We must live for the future, staying connected with the people around us. We must live, and love, and forgive, and begin again. This, too, is the work of Christ, the work of accepting, receiving and bringing new life. Jim's story challenges us. How do we pursue justice while staying present to those we love? Perhaps it starts small, like by speaking honestly in difficult conversations, standing up for someone who's being treated unfairly or simply choosing to listen deeply before rushing to judgement. Perhaps the key is pursuing these actions in ways that build rather than break relationships, recognising that sustained truth-telling requires sustained connection. The deepest truth might be this: we need both the courage to fight for what's right and the wisdom to do it in love, not despite it. And to what end? Truth and justice, bound together by a fierce love that will not be overcome. ■Tom Mepham is minister of Student Soul.
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Iranian film wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Revenge thriller It Was Just An Accident by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran, has won the Palme d'Or top prize at Cannes. With the award, Panahi now has the rare honour of winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after nabbing Berlin's Golden Bear for Taxi in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for The Circle in 2000. The 64-year-old director, who last attended the festival in person in 2003, addressed his prize to all Iranians, saying the most important thing was Iran and the country's freedom. "Hoping that we will reach a day when no one will tell us what to wear or not wear, what to do or not do," he said, in an apparent reference to Iran's strict Islamic dress code for women. The death in 2022 of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules sparked Iran's biggest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution that brought its clerical rulers to power. Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times in Iran, plans to return to his country after the festival, he told Reuters. "Win or not, I was going to go back either way. Don't be afraid of challenges," said the director who made films illegally during the 15-year ban that was recently lifted. Panahi added that he would never forget his first day at this year's festival, and getting to watch the film with an audience after all those years: "Every moment was thrilling." It Was Just An Accident follows a garage owner who rashly kidnaps a one-legged man who looks like the one who tortured him in prison and then has to decide his fate. It is only the second Iranian film to win, after Taste of Cherry in 1997. "Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life," said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing why they chose Panahi for the award. Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster. WITHOUT A HITCH Saturday's closing ceremony, which officially ends the glamour-filled festival, went off without a hitch after the Cannes area was hit by a power outage for several hours. Sentimental Value from acclaimed director Joachim Trier received the Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or. The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama Sound of Falling from German director Mascha Schilinski and Sirat , about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe. Brazil's The Secret Agent was handed two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho. "I was having champagne," said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage again to collect his own award after celebrating the win for Moura, who was not in attendance. Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for The Little Sister , a queer coming-of-age story about the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris. Belgium's Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d'Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film Young Mothers . Outside the competition line-up, director Spike Lee brought Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington to the festival, while Tom Cruise was in town for what could be his final Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning . Washington, who was only briefly at the festival, received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or on Monday night. Robert De Niro had received the same honour, which had been announced in advance, during the opening ceremony on May 13.
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- RNZ News
Cannes' top prize goes to It Was Just An Accident by Iran's Jafar Panahi
By Miranda Murray , Reuters Iranian director and screenwriter and producer Jafar Panahi poses with the trophy during a photocall after winning the Palme d'Or for the film "Un simple accident" (A Simple Accident) during the closing ceremony at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2025. Photo: AFP/BERTRAND GUAY Revenge thriller It Was Just An Accident by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran, won the Palme d'Or top prize. With the award, Panahi now has the rare honour of winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after nabbing Berlin's Golden Bear for Taxi in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for The Circle in 2000. The 64-year-old director, who last attended the festival in person in 2003, addressed his prize to all Iranians, saying the most important thing was Iran and the country's freedom. "Hoping that we will reach a day when no one will tell us what to wear or not wear, what to do or not do," he said, in an apparent reference to Iran's strict Islamic dress code for women. The death in 2022 of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules sparked Iran's biggest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution that brought its clerical rulers to power. Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times in Iran, plans to return to his country after the festival, he told Reuters. "Win or not, I was going to go back either way. Don't be afraid of challenges," said the director who made films illegally during the 15-year ban that was recently lifted. Panahi added that he would never forget his first day at this year's festival, and getting to watch the film with an audience after all those years: "Every moment was thrilling." It Was Just An Accident , which follows a garage owner who rashly kidnaps a one-legged man who looks like the one who tortured him in prison and then has to decide his fate, is only the second Iranian film to win, after Taste of Cherry in 1997. "Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life," said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing why they chose Panahi for the award. Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster. The closing ceremony, which officially ends the glamour-filled festival, went off without a hitch after the Cannes area was hit by a power outage for several hours. Sentimental Value from acclaimed director Joachim Trier received the Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or. The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama Sound of Falling from German director Mascha Schilinski and Sirat, about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe. Brazil's The Secret Agent was handed two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho. "I was having champagne," said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage again to collect his own award after celebrating the win for Moura, who was not in attendance. Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for The Little Sister , a queer coming-of-age story about the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris. Belgium's Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d'Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film Young Mothers . Outside the competition line-up, director Spike Lee brought Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington to the festival, while Tom Cruise was in town for what could be his final Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning . Washington, who was only briefly at the festival, received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or on Monday night. Robert De Niro had received the same honour, which had been announced in advance, during the opening ceremony on 13 May. - Reuters
