Overview

• Jafar Panahi attended the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in over two decades following the lifting of his filmmaking and travel bans in 2023.
• His new film, 'It Was Just an Accident,' dramatizes the moral complexities of revenge through the story of former prisoners confronting their alleged torturer.
• The film was shot clandestinely in Iran without government approval and features unveiled women as a bold challenge to the country's mandatory hijab law.
• After the film's premiere, which received a ten-minute standing ovation, Panahi dedicated the moment to Iranian filmmakers who remain imprisoned or silenced.
• Panahi announced his intention to return to Iran immediately after Cannes to begin work on his next project, despite potential government repercussions.