'It Was Just...' wins top Cannes honor: All about it
What's the story
Ace Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, earlier banned by the Iranian government from making films for 15 years, has won the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
His critically acclaimed revenge thriller, It Was Just An Accident, won the top prize.
This is his third major European film festival win after Berlin's Golden Bear for Taxi in 2015 and Venice's Golden Lion for The Circle in 2000.
Statement
Panahi dedicated his win to Iran and its freedom
Panahi, who last attended the Cannes festival in 2003, dedicated his award to all Iranians.
He wished for a day when personal freedoms would be respected, saying, "Hoping that we will reach a day when no one will tell us what to wear or not wear, what to do or not do."
This was seen as a scathing criticism of Iran's strict Islamic dress code for women.
Film plot
Panahi's film was only the 2nd Iranian winner at Cannes
It Was Just An Accident, which follows a garage owner who kidnaps a one-legged man resembling his torturer, is the second Iranian film to win the Palme d'Or, after Taste of Cherry in 1997.
Jury president Juliette Binoche praised Panahi's work, saying, "Art mobilizes the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope, and new life."
Panahi's statement
'Experiences of those mistreated by the authorities...'
Speaking about the film, Panahi earlier told Screen Daily, "This is not my personal experience, but it's the experiences of all these people who for four decades have been in captivity and have been mistreated by the authorities."
He added, "No matter if I am banned or not, I still do not wish to make the kind of films they want me to make. I want to make the films I feel necessary to make."
Festival highlights
Other winners at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
The 78th Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony went on without any issues, despite the area experiencing a power outage.
Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value bagged the Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d'Or.
The jury prize was jointly awarded to Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling and Oliver Laxe's Sirat.
Brazil's The Secret Agent won two awards, including best actor (Wagner Moura) and best director (Kleber Mendonca Filho).
Award recipients
Best actor, actress, and screenplay winners at Cannes
Nadia Melliti won best actress for The Little Sister, a queer coming-of-age story about the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris.
The Dardenne brothers, who already have two Palme d'Or prizes, won the award for best screenplay for their film Young Mothers.
Alia Bhatt, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ishaan Khatter, and Aditi Rao Hydari, among other Indian artists, attended the festival.