Latest news with #UnSimpleAccident
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Iran summons French envoy after FM's Cannes comments
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (left) speaking on stage after winning the Palme d'Or for the film Un Simple Accident (A Simple Accident), watched by Juliette Binoche (right) and Cate Blanchett (second to right). PHOTO: EPA-EFE TEHRAN - France's envoy in Tehran was summoned May 25 over 'insulting' comments by France's foreign minister after an Iranian film won the top prize at the Cannes film festival, state media reported. In a post on X after dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or on May 24, Mr Jean-Noel Barrot called his victory 'a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression'. Mr Panahi, 64, was awarded the Palme d'Or for the political drama It Was Just an Accident – a film in which five Iranians confront a man they believe tortured them in prison. Several actresses also appear in the film without veils, in violation of Iran's strict dress code for women. 'Following the insulting remarks and unfounded allegations by the French minister... the charge d'affaires of that country in Tehran has been summoned to the ministry,' state news agency Irna reported on May 25. It said Iran condemns 'the misuse by the French government' of the Cannes festival 'to advance its political agenda against the Islamic Republic'. A story inspired by his own time in detention, Mr Panahi's film led critics' polls throughout the week at Cannes. Mr Panahi's victory had been ignored by the state broadcaster, which instead focused on a state-aligned 'Resistance' film festival. This event awards pro-Palestinian works or those about the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The conservative Fars news agency had suggested the Cannes jury's choice was politically motivated, saying it was 'not uninfluenced by the political issues surrounding Jafar Panahi inside Iran'. Reformist newspapers Etemad, Shargh and Ham Mihan reported the win on their websites but did not feature it on their front pages, possibly due to the timing of the announcement. Mr Panahi, who has been banned from filmmaking in Iran since 2010 and jailed multiple times, addressed the Cannes audience with a call for national unity. He confirmed plans to go home to Iran immediately. Asked late May 24 if he feared arrest, he said: 'Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving.' On May 25, he posted an Instagram picture of himself with his film crew, saying: 'Travellers return home.' It was only the second time an Iranian director has won the Palme d'Or, after the late Abbas Kiarostami received the honour for Taste of Cherry in 1997. Both directors faced bans throughout their careers. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Express Tribune
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Jafar Panahi wins Palme d'Or at Cannes 2025 for ‘It Was Just An Accident' filmed in secret
Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for It Was Just An Accident (Un Simple Accident), a tense revenge drama shot in secret. The film follows a garage owner who kidnaps a one-legged man resembling the person he believes once tortured him in prison. The story confronts justice, memory, and the burden of vengeance. Panahi, who had been banned from filmmaking in Iran for 15 years, dedicated the prize 'to all Iranians,' saying: '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 added, 'Win or not, I was going to go back either way. Don't be afraid of challenges.' Returning to the festival in person for the first time since 2003, Panahi said: 'Every moment was thrilling.' Jury president Juliette Binoche called the film 'a force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life.' The Grand Prix went to Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value. The Jury Prize was shared between Sirat by Oliver Laxe and Sound of Falling by Mascha Schilinski. Brazil's The Secret Agent earned Best Actor for Wagner Moura and Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho. Nadia Melliti won Best Actress for The Little Sister. The Dardenne brothers received Best Screenplay for Young Mothers. Panahi's win is his third major European prize, joining the Golden Bear and Golden Lion, and only the second time an Iranian film has won the Palme d'Or.
UPI
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
'Un Simple Accident' wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival
Left to right, Elle Fanning, Stellan Skarsgard, Joachim Trier, Anders Danielsen Lie, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Renate Reinsve attend the premiere of "Sentimental Value" at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Rune Hellestad/ UPI | License Photo May 24 (UPI) -- Jafar Panahi's Un Simple Accident won the Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value scored the Grand Prix, while Kieber Mendonca Filho won the Best Director trophy and Wagner Moura picked up the award for Best Actor for The Secret Agent. Nadia Melliti earned the Best Actress prize for La Petitie Derniere and the Best Screenplay title went to Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for Jeunes Meres. Variety said there was a five-hour power outage across the South of France that was resolved shortly before the awards were announced t the festival's closing ceremony. Scarlett Johansson, Jodie Foster bring new films to Cannes Director Scarlett Johansson attends the photo call for her film "Eleanor the Great" at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival in France on May 21, 2025. Photo by Rune Hellestad/ UPI | License Photo
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 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
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Iranian Movie Shot in Secret Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival
The sun was still shining when the 78th Cannes Film Festival came to an emotional, exhilarating close with the Palme d'Or going to 'Un Simple Accident,' from the Iranian writer-director Jafar Panahi. The announcement was met with cheers and a standing ovation in the Grand Lumière Theater. Accompanied by his actors, some who began weeping, an equally moved Panahi kept on his sunglasses as he accepted his award. A longtime festival favorite, Panahi had until recently been barred from making movies in Iran or traveling outside the country. Although the restriction has been lifted, he shot 'Un Simple Accident' clandestinely. The movie tracks a group of men and women who join together after one of them kidnaps a man they believe tortured them in prison. Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times, drew his inspiration from stories he heard from other inmates while he was at Evin Prison in Tehran. The Palme for Panahi capped what was widely seen as one of the strongest festivals in years. For some, the selections offered reassuring evidence that the art would continue to endure — and thrive — despite the problems facing the industry. Certainly, President Trump's recent threat to institute a 100 percent tariff on movies made in 'foreign lands' had cast a shadow over the opening ceremony. By the close of the festival, however, the bounty of good and great work had palpably buoyed spirits. The Palme d'Or was decided upon by a nine-person jury led by the French actress Juliette Binoche. 'My friends, this is the end — it was such a show,' she said, turning to her fellow jurists, who included the American actor Jeremy Strong and the Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia. Given Binoche's auteur-rich résumé, it is perhaps unsurprising that this jury gave a special award to the Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan for 'Resurrection,' a delirious, elegiac journey through cinema history. The director Coralie Fargeat ('The Substance') presented the Grand Prix, effectively the runner-up award, to 'Sentimental Value,' a wistful, visually playful family drama from the Norwegian director Joachim Trier, who is best known for 'The Worst Person in the World.' 'I'm very moved,' a very composed Trier said. Gesturing to the audience, he said that he shared the prize with his actors, including Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve, who play father and daughter in a story about art, family and the ghosts that haunt each. Like other winners, Trier praised Cannes for its commitment to the big screen. The Jury Prize, presented by the American actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph, was split between two very different movies: 'Sirât' and 'Sound of Falling.' Sirât, from the French Spanish director Oliver Laxe, turns on a father who's searching for his missing daughter in Morocco and ends up stranded in a desert with some ravers. 'Sound of Falling,' from the German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski, is a visually exquisite ghost story that takes place over a century on the same sprawling farm. The best actor award, presented by the Spanish actress Rossy de Palma, was given to Wagner Moura, the star of the Brazilian drama 'The Secret Agent,' about a man on the run during the country's military dictatorship. Its director, Kleber Mendonça Filho, accepted on behalf of the star, saying 'I love him very much.' Mendonça Filho returned to the stage soon after to accept the prize for best director. It was presented by the French director Claude Lelouch, whose 'A Man and a Woman' is featured on the festival poster. 'I was having Champagne,' Mendonça Filho said. After he praised Cannes, he gave a lusty shout-out to the theatrical experience: 'I believe that cinemas build the character of a film.' The French actor Daniel Auteuil presented the best actress prize to the newcomer Nadia Melliti, star of Hafsia Herzi's touching drama 'The Little Sister.' Melliti's open, naturalistic performance — her first movie role — as a young lesbian struggling to reconcile her sexuality with her Muslim faith, had been widely and justly celebrated. The American actor John C. Reilly, after referring to a power outage that affected Cannes and the surrounding Alpes-Maritimes region earlier in the day, announced that it was his birthday. A guitarist then strolled onstage and Reilly began singing 'La Vie en Rose,' providing some levity in the briskly paced ceremony that was over in one hour. When Reilly finished, he presented the best screenplay to the Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their ensemble drama 'Young Mothers.' Also longtime festival favorites, they have won the Palme twice. The Camera d'Or, for best first film, went to 'The President's Cake.' Accepting the award, its director, Hasan Hadi, said it was the first Iraqi movie to be honored at Cannes. The touching Nigerian drama 'My Father's Shadow,' from Akinola Davies Jr., received a special mention.
