It Was Just an Accident

Iran / France 2025, 102 minutes
Dir. Jafar Panahi
In Persian with English subtitles
Rating: [M] Violence, offensive language & cruelty
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Suspense/Crime, Drama

Feat. Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi

“It’s another very impressive serio-comic film from one of the most distinctive and courageous figures in world cinema.”~Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Aroview: Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2025, this Iranian drama that has been rightly celebrated for the bravery of its often-persecuted director, Jahar Panahi.

Made with great risk in defiance of the Islamic state, its subject is a direct critique of the regime’s human rights violations, yet the film finds plenty of humour in the predicament of a group of civilians abetting the kidnap of a man they suspect might be a perpetrator of those violations. It’s a film we can only presume speaks loudly for the silenced majority of Iranians.

Cannes - Palm D’Or
NZ International Film Festival 2025