Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or on Saturday for “It Was Just an Accident,” a revenge drama he shot clandestinely while officially barred from filmmaking at home. Accepting the prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the 64-year-old director dedicated the award “to all Iranians” and expressed hope for a day “when no one will tell us what to wear or do,” a clear reference to Iran’s restrictive dress and speech rules.
Panahi’s victory caps a career defined by defiance. In 2010 he received a six-year prison sentence and a 20-year ban on directing, yet he continued to make films in secret and smuggle them abroad on flash drives. “It Was Just an Accident,” only the second Iranian film ever to claim Cannes’ top honor after Abbas Kiarostami’s “Taste of Cherry” in 1997, follows a garage owner who confronts the man he believes tortured him in prison.
The win places Panahi among the select filmmakers who have taken the highest prizes at all three major European festivals; he previously earned Venice’s Golden Lion for “The Circle” and Berlin’s Golden Bear for “Taxi”. Jury president Juliette Binoche said the film “mobilizes the creative energy that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life,” while presenter Cate Blanchett praised Cannes for choosing a work that sparks broader social conversations.
Reactions inside Iran remain muted in official media, but outlets abroad noted government hostility toward the director. Spanish daily El País described Panahi as “the filmmaker the Islamic Republic hates,” recounting his repeated arrests for supporting dissidents and women’s rights. Iranian state broadcasters have yet to mention the award.
Cannes’ closing ceremony also honored Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” with the Grand Prix and split the Jury Prize between Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling” and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat.” Wagner Moura and Nadia Melliti claimed acting awards, while the Dardenne brothers won best screenplay for “Young Mothers”.
Panahi told reporters he would return to Tehran immediately: “Win or not, I was going back. Don’t be afraid of challenges.” His departure from France underscores the precarious freedom that allowed him, briefly, to stand on the Palais stage and call for the liberties his films insist upon.