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It Was Just an Accident

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It Was Just an Accident
French poster
Persianیک تصادف ساده
Directed byJafar Panahi
Written byJafar Panahi
Produced by
  • Jafar Panahi
  • Philippe Martin
Starring
  • Vahid Mobasseri
  • Mariam Afshari
  • Ebrahim Azizi
  • Hadis Pakbaten
  • Majid Panahi
  • Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
CinematographyAmin Jafari
Production
companies
  • Les Films Pelléas
  • Jafar Panahi Productions
  • Bidibul Productions
  • Pio & Co
Distributed byMemento Distribution (France)
Release dates
  • 20 May 2025 (2025-05-20) (Cannes)
  • 10 September 2025 (2025-09-10) (France)
Running time
105 minutes
Countries
  • Iran
  • France
  • Luxembourg
LanguagePersian

It Was Just an Accident (Persian: یک تصادف ساده, romanized: Yek tasadof-e sadeh; French: Un simple accident) is a 2025 thriller film written and directed by Jafar Panahi. The film is a co-production between Iran, France, and Luxembourg. The film explores political repression in Iran and morality. Panahi, who is critical of the Iranian government and has been imprisoned several times, made the film without official filming permission from the Iranian authorities.

The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2025, where it won the Palme d'Or. It will be theatrically released in France on 10 September 2025 by Memento Distribution.

Plot

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A man, nicknamed Eghbal,[a] is driving at night with his wife and daughter when he hits and kills a dog. The accident badly damages his engine and causes the car to later break down. He pulls over to a nearby garage, encountering a former political prisoner named Vahid, who recognizes the squeaking sound of Eghbal's false leg as that of an intelligence officer who tortured him in prison and caused him permanent kidney damage. Vahid stalks Eghbal to his house, kidnaps him, and prepares to bury him alive, but grows doubtful about the man's identity since he was blindfolded and had never seen his torturer's face. He reaches out to a fellow ex-prisoner for confirmation, and meets up with the bookseller Salar, wedding photographer Shiva, bride Goli, groom Ali, and angry worker Hamid. Riding around day and night, Vahid's van is occupied by these victims all seeking revenge on the man who brutally abused them. During their ride, they contemplate the morality of killing their captive and whether he actually is who they believe him to be.

Cast

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  • Vahid Mobasseri as Vahid
  • Mariam Afshari as Shiva
  • Ebrahim Azizi as Eghbal
  • Hadis Pakbaten as Golrokh
  • Majid Panahi as the groom
  • Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid

Production

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Background

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See also: Jafar Panahi § 2022 arrest

It Was Just an Accident is a film by Jafar Panahi, one of Iran's best known directors. In the past, he had repeatedly criticized the policies of the Islamic Republic in his works. Panahi was arrested in 2022 after being sentenced in 2010 to a six-year prison sentence and a 20-year ban on working. He had not yet begun serving his prison sentence at that time. This decision was heavily criticized internationally. After almost seven months in detention, Panahi was released in early February 2023, after the 65-year-old went on a hunger strike. Despite his ban on working, he had always managed to complete film projects in Iran and have them released abroad.[2][3] Most recently, in his absence, his film No Bears (2022) was shown in the main competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize there.[4][5] In an interview ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Panahi said that although the bans had been lifted on his filmmaking and travelling, he still had to maintain a secrecy about his work and had to work illegally with a "very limited cast and crew".[6]

Financing and filming

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It Was Just an Accident is a co-production between Iran, France and Luxembourg.[7] It was produced by Panahi himself in collaboration with Philippe Martin for Les Films Pelléas, a Paris-based company that also produced Justine Triet's Palme d'Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall. The film was co-produced by Bidibul Productions (Luxembourg) and Pio & Co (France). Post-production was completed in France.[8]

Panahi filmed It Was Just an Accident in secret,[9] without a filming permit from the Islamic Republic. The actresses in the film do not wear the hijab, which is compulsory for women under the law in Iran.[10]

Cast and crew during Cannes awards ceremony

Release

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It Was Just an Accident was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival,[11][12] where it had its world premiere on 20 May 2025.[13] The film was described as a "tightly guarded mystery" upon its announcement at Cannes.[8] Thierry Frémaux, the festival's general delegate, explained in early April that he wanted nothing to be leaked.[14] Panahi's work last appeared at Cannes in 2021 with the omnibus documentary film The Year of the Everlasting Storm, presented as a Special Screening.[8] Upon its announcement, Variety reported that it would be unlikely that Panahi would travel to Cannes for the premiere.[15] Panahi, however, appeared in person at Cannes alongside his wife and daughter, as well as several of the cast members. He last appeared at Cannes in person in 2003, when Crimson Gold was screened in the Un Certain Regard section.[16]

International sales are handled by MK2 Films.[15] The film is scheduled to be theatrically released in France by Memento Distribution on 10 September 2025, under the title Un simple accident.[17][18] Shortly after its Cannes premiere, Mubi acquired distribution rights to the film in Latin America, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Turkey and India, with Neon buying rights for North America.[19] It will be released in the United States on October 15, 2025.[20]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 38 critics' reviews are positive.[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]

Davide Abbatescianni of Cineuropa described it as "a gripping, slow-burning narrative that culminates in an unexpectedly devastating finale," which is "both timely and timeless, and deeply rooted in the social and political realities of Iran."[23]

In June 2025, IndieWire ranked the film at number 43 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[24]

[edit]

Following the film's success in Cannes, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot called Panahi's win "a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression". A spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry called Barrot's comments "insulting remarks and unfounded allegations" and criticised "the misuse by the French government" of the Cannes festival "to advance its political agenda against the Islamic Republic". France's chargé d'affaires in Tehran was summoned to the ministry in response. During the meeting, the Iranian representative condemned Barrot's comments as "blatant interference" and described the congratulatory message as "irresponsible and provocative", adding that France had "no moral authority at all" to comment on Iran, citing what he characterised as a failure by France to support Palestinians in Gaza. He demanded an official explanation from the French government, to which the envoy replied that he would convey the message to Paris.[25][26]

More than 150 Iranian artists and activists, including Crown Prince in exile Reza Pahlavi and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Narges Mohammadi, were signatories to a public statement applauding Panahi as "an outstanding and courageous Iranian filmmaker" and congratulating his Palme d'Or win as a sign that "committed art and the voice of truth, even amidst the walls of censorship and pressure, can make the world admire these achievements. These achievements are an honor for all Iranians who fight for freedom, justice, and human dignity".[27] Mohammad Rasoulof called the win a "powerful blow to the machinery of repression in the Islamic Republic".[28]

Accolades

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The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. In his award acceptance speech Panahi called for Iranians to unite against the Iranian regime.[9]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Palme d'Or Jafar Panahi Won [29]
Prix de la Citoyenneté Won [30]
Sydney Film Festival 15 June 2025 Sydney Film Prize Won [31]

Notes

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  1. ^ Farsi nickname for peg leg.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Mintzer, Jordan (20 May 2025). "'It Was Just an Accident' Review: Iranian Auteur Jafar Panahi Returns to Cannes With an Artful Tale of Trauma and Revenge". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Luxemburger Film von Jafar Panahi kämpft in Cannes um die Palme d'Or". wort.lu (in German). 10 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Iran: Regisseur Panahi auf Kaution freigelassen". orf.at (in German). 3 February 2023.
  4. ^ Akrami, Jamsheed (9 September 2022). "A Matter of Honor and Shame". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  5. ^ Roxborough, Scott (10 September 2022). "Sackler Documentary 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' Wins Venice 2022 Golden Lion for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  6. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (20 May 2025). "Jafar Panahi on 'It Was Just An Accident', being in prison and showing the Iranian sense of humour". Screen International. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Un simple accident". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Abbatescianni, Davide (14 April 2025). "Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident to world-premiere in Cannes' competition". Cineuropa. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b Youngs, Ian (24 May 2025). "Cannes: Iranian director Jafar Panahi speaks out against regime after Palme d'Or win". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  10. ^ «یک تصادف ساده»، فیلم جدید جعفر پناهی، در بخش مسابقه کن ۲۰۲۵ به نمایش درمی‌آید. Radio Farda, 21 April 2025.
  11. ^ Ntim, Zac (10 April 2025). "Cannes Competition Lineup: Aster, Trier, Dardennes, Reichardt, Ducournau, Wes Anderson & More — Full List". Deadline. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  12. ^ Roxborough, Scott (10 April 2025). "Cannes Lines Up Another Hot Festival With Wes Anderson, Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster Premieres (Full List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  13. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2025. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Découvrez la programmation complète de la 78e édition du Festival de Cannes". Tribune de Genève (in French). 23 April 2025. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  15. ^ a b Vivarelli, Nick; Keslassy, Elsa (10 April 2025). "Jafar Panahi's Cannes Competition Film 'It Was Just an Accident' Boarded by MK2 Films". Variety. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  16. ^ Murray, Miranda; Cabrera, Michaela (20 May 2025). "Iranian film director Jafar Panahi in Cannes for first time in over 20 years". Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  17. ^ "un simple accident | le 10.09.25" (in French). Memento. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  18. ^ "France's Memento Buys Harry Lighton's Sexy Romance 'Pillion' Ahead of Cannes Premiere to Complete Big Festival Slate". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  19. ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Vivarelli, Nick (22 May 2025). "Mubi Buys Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' for Multiple Territories Including U.K." Variety. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  20. ^ Jackson, Angelique (25 June 2025). "Jafar Panahi's Cannes Winner 'It Was Just an Accident' Gets Fall Release Date From Neon". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  21. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 16 June 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  22. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  23. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (22 May 2025). "Review: It Was Just An Accident". Cineuropa. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  24. ^ "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)". 16 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  25. ^ Kupemba, Danai Nesta (25 May 2025). "Iran summons French envoy in diplomatic row over 'insulting' Cannes remarks". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Iran summons French envoy over minister's 'insulting' Cannes comments". France 24. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  27. ^ "تبریک ۱۵۰ کنشگر به پناهی؛ صدای حقیقت از پس سانسور و فشار هم جهان را به تحسین وامی‌دارد". www.iranintl.com (in Persian). 25 May 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  28. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (25 May 2025). "Jafar Panahi's Cannes Palme d'Or Is a 'Powerful Blow to the Machinery of Repression in the Islamic Republic,' Says 'Seed of the Sacred Fig' Director Mohammad Rasoulov (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  29. ^ Shoard, Catherine (24 May 2025). "Iranian director Jafar Panahi wins Palme d'Or at Cannes for It Was Just an Accident". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  30. ^ Lemoine, Philippe (24 May 2025). "Cannes 2025. Jafar Panahi reçoit le prix de la Citoyenneté pour son film « Un simple accident »". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  31. ^ Maddox, Garry (15 June 2025). "Amid conflict at home, Iranian director wins top prize at Sydney Film Festival". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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