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It Was Just an Accident

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It Was Just an Accident
French theatrical release 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
  • Delnaz Najafi
  • Afssaneh Najmabadi
  • Georges Hashemzadeh
CinematographyAmin Jafari
Edited byAmir Etminan
Production
companies
Distributed byMemento Distribution (France)
Release dates
  • 20 May 2025 (2025-05-20) (Cannes)
  • 1 October 2025 (2025-10-01) (France)
Running time
104 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Iran
  • France
  • Luxembourg
Languages
Box office$4 million[2]

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 follows a group of former Iranian political prisoners who face the question of whether to exact revenge on their tormentor. 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.[3][4][5][6]

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 was selected as the French entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.[7]

It was theatrically released in France on 1 October 2025 by Memento Distribution.

Plot

[edit]

A man with a stumbling leg drives his car at night with his wife and daughter when he accidentally hits and kills a dog. To repair his car, he visits a nearby garage where Vahid, an Azerbaijani auto mechanic, recognizes him after he speaks to his mother on the phone about delivering a new van to his sister. The next day, Vahid follows the man, kidnaps him and attempts to bury him in the desert. He tells him that he recognized his voice and stumbling walk as that of Eghbal (nicknamed peg leg), his former tormentor in an Iranian prison. The man denies being Eghbal and begs Vahid not to kill him.

To verify the man's identity, Vahid puts his unconscious body into the van and visits Salar, a bookseller who refuses to help him kill the man but directs him to a woman named Shiva, a photographer in the middle of taking photos of Goli and Ali, an engaged couple. Reluctant to help him, Shiva recognizes the smell of the man as that of Eghbal but is also unsure of his identity due to the fact that they were blindfolded during their torture. Goli reveals that she was also tortured by Eghbal and they seek out the help of Hamid, Shiva's former partner.

Hamid instantly identifies the man as Eghbal after touching his leg and insists on killing him right away, but Vahid and Shiva hold him back, as they wish to hear him testify first. At that time, a cellphone rings from the man's body. Vahid picks it up and hears a young girl, who claims that her mother fainted. The group visit the man's house and drive his daughter with her mother to a hospital, where she gives birth to a son.

Hamid, Goli and Ali grow frustrated and decide to leave Vahid and Shiva behind. The two then drive the man to a quiet location at night, tie him up to a tree, wake him up and demand that he testify. The man first claims mistaken identity again, but then caves in and acknowledges that he is Eghbal, saying that his actions were justified for the good of the Iranian regime and that killing him would merely make him a martyr. Vahid and Shiva recount the torment they experienced in detail to Eghbal and state that his wife has given birth to a son. Shiva demands that Eghbal apologize and after a back-and-forth, he caves in and says that he is sorry, claiming that he was only trying to make a living. Vahid then sets Eghbal free and drives away with Shiva.

On another day, Vahid speaks to his mother in a celebratory mood as he prepares the van for his sister. However, he stops with his face turned toward a staircase as the sound of Eghbal's stumbling leg is heard in the background.

Cast

[edit]
  • 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
  • Delnaz Najafi
  • Afssaneh Najmabadi
  • Georges Hashemzadeh

Production

[edit]

Background

[edit]
See also: Jafar Panahi § 2022 arrest

Panahi is one of Iran's best known directors, who has repeatedly criticized the policies of the Iranian regime in his works. He 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.[8][9] 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.[10][11] 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".[12]

Financing and filming

[edit]

It Was Just an Accident is a co-production between Iran, France and Luxembourg.[13] 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.[14]

Panahi filmed It Was Just an Accident in secret,[15] without a filming permit from the Islamic Republic. The actresses in the film do not always wear the hijab, which is compulsory for women under the law in Iran.[16]

Cast and crew during Cannes awards ceremony

Release

[edit]

It Was Just an Accident was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival,[17][18] where it had its world premiere on 20 May 2025.[19] The film was described as a "tightly guarded mystery" upon its announcement at Cannes.[14] Thierry Frémaux, the festival's general delegate, explained in early April that he wanted nothing to be leaked.[20] 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.[14] Upon its announcement, Variety reported that it would be unlikely that Panahi would travel to Cannes for the premiere.[21] 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.[22]

International sales are handled by MK2 Films.[21] The film was theatrically released in France by Memento Distribution on 1 October 2025, under the title Un simple accident.[23][24] 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.[25] It was released in the United States on 15 October 2025.[26]

The film had its Canadian premiere in the Special Presentations section of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2025.[27][28]

It was presented in the Gala Presentation at the 30th Busan International Film Festival on 18 September 2025,[29] and also selected to screen at the Adelaide Film Festival in Australia on 19 October 2025,[30] and also in 'Best of 2025' section of the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025.[31] The film also screened at the London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival in October 2025.[32][33]

Reception

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Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 68 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Perhaps the most bluntly political film by Jafar Panahi yet, It Was Just an Accident is a defiant rebuke of authoritarianism that still delivers the entertainment value of a gripping thriller."[34] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 92 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[35]

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."[36]

In June 2025, IndieWire ranked the film at number 43 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[37]

[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.[38][39]

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".[40] Mohammad Rasoulof called the win a "powerful blow to the machinery of repression in the Islamic Republic".[41]

Accolades

[edit]

The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. In his award acceptance speech Panahi called for Iranians to unite against the Iranian regime.[15]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Palme d'Or Jafar Panahi Won [42]
Prix de la Citoyenneté Won [43]
Sydney Film Festival 15 June 2025 Sydney Film Prize Won [44]
Mill Valley Film Festival 14 October 2025 MVFF Award, Filmmaking Won [45]
Audience Favorite – Independent Cinema It Was Just an Accident Won
Middleburg Film Festival 19 October 2025 Impact Award Jafar Panahi Won [46]
Montclair Film Festival 27 October 2025 Audience Award for World Cinema It Was Just an Accident Won [47]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 27 November 2025 Best Film Pending [48]
Best Director Jafar Panahi Pending
Gotham Independent Film Awards 1 December 2025 Best Director Pending [49]
Best Original Screenplay Pending
Best International Feature Philippe Martin and Jafar Panahi Pending
European Film Awards 16 April 2026 LUX Audience Award It Was Just an Accident Pending [50]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "It Was Just an Accident (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  2. ^ "It Was Just An Accident". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 24 October 2025.Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Movie Review: Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' is a darkly moving and funny look at revenge". AP News. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  4. ^ "'It Was Just an Accident' Review: A Liberation Story Straight From Iran". 15 October 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  5. ^ Ehrlich, David (13 October 2025). "'It Was Just an Accident' Review: Five Iranian Dissidents Debate Killing Their Former Torturer in Jafar Panahi's Breathless Moral Thriller". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Un simple accident Review: Jafar Panahi returns with Cannes gold". Films Fatale. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  7. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (17 September 2025). "Oscars: France Selects Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just An Accident' As 2026 Best International Feature Candidate". Deadline. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Luxemburger Film von Jafar Panahi kämpft in Cannes um die Palme d'Or". wort.lu (in German). 10 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Iran: Regisseur Panahi auf Kaution freigelassen". orf.at (in German). 3 February 2023.
  10. ^ Akrami, Jamsheed (9 September 2022). "A Matter of Honor and Shame". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Un simple accident". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ «یک تصادف ساده»، فیلم جدید جعفر پناهی، در بخش مسابقه کن ۲۰۲۵ به نمایش درمی‌آید. Radio Farda, 21 April 2025.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ "un simple accident | le 01.10.25" (in French). Memento. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  24. ^ "France's Memento Buys Harry Lighton's Sexy Romance 'Pillion' Ahead of Cannes Premiere to Complete Big Festival Slate". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (21 July 2025). "TIFF Galas & Presentations: World Premieres 'Good Fortune', 'Nuremberg', Sydney Sweeney Pic 'Christy', Angelina Jolie 'Couture'; North American Debuts Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein', Dwayne Johnson 'Smashing Machine'". Deadline.
  28. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". TIFF. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  29. ^ Naman Ramachandran (26 August 2025). "Shu Qi's 'Girl' and 'Resurrection' Among Competition Titles as Busan Film Festival Unveils Lineup for 30th Edition". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  30. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Festa del Cinema di Roma 2025, il programma completo (diretta)" [Rome Film Fest 2025: Full program (live)]. Ciak Magazine (in Italian). 19 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  32. ^ Hawkins, Helen (15 October 2025). "London Film Festival 2025 - from paranoia in Brazil and Iran, to light relief in New York and Tuscany". theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  33. ^ "Jafar Panahi doesn't want to be called a hero. He just wants to make films". AP News. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  34. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 September 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  35. ^ "It Was Just an Accident". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  36. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (22 May 2025). "Review: It Was Just An Accident". Cineuropa. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  37. ^ "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)". 16 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  38. ^ Kupemba, Danai Nesta (25 May 2025). "Iran summons French envoy in diplomatic row over 'insulting' Cannes remarks". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  39. ^ "Iran summons French envoy over minister's 'insulting' Cannes comments". France 24. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  40. ^ "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.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ 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.
  44. ^ 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.
  45. ^ "AwardsWatch - 'Hamnet' Wins Audience Award at 48th Mill Valley Film Festival". AwardsWatch. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  46. ^ Jones, Marcus (18 September 2025). "'Jay Kelly' to Open Middleburg Film Festival, with Chloé Zhao and Colin Farrell Among 2025 Honorees". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  47. ^ Hall, Tom (27 October 2025). "Montclair Film Announces 2025 Montclair Film Festival Award Winners!". Montclair Film. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  48. ^ "18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations Announced". FilmInk. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  49. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (28 October 2025). "Gotham Awards Film Nominations: 'One Battle After Another' Leads Pack; Multiple Noms For 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You', 'It Was Just An Accident', 'No Other Choice'". Deadline. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  50. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (7 October 2025). "'Sentimental Value'; 'It Was Just An Accident' & 'Deaf' Make Europe's LUX Audience Award Shortlist + Arab Critics For European Films Noms". Deadline.
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