 Director Jafar Panahi, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Un simple accident" (It Was Just an Accident), during the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 24, 2025. (Photo:REUTERS) |
With the award, Panahi now has the rare honor 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.
"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.
Panahi said 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."
22 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.