Iran / France / Luxembourg
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
102 MIN
2025
What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.
Cast & Crew
Producers: Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin
Director: Jafar Panahi
Script: Jafar Panahi
Director of Photography: Amin Jafari
Production Design: Leila Naghdi
Sound: Abdoreza Heidari, Cyril Holtz
Editing: Amir Etminan
Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Maryam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Production. Jafar Panahi Productions and Les Films Pelléas
Awards
Palm d’Or, Cannes IFF, 2025, Best Film, Sydney FF, 2025
Cast & Crew
Producers: Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin
Director: Jafar Panahi
Script: Jafar Panahi
Director of Photography: Amin Jafari
Production Design: Leila Naghdi
Sound: Abdoreza Heidari, Cyril Holtz
Editing: Amir Etminan
Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Maryam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Production. Jafar Panahi Productions and Les Films Pelléas
Awards
Palm d’Or, Cannes IFF, 2025, Best Film, Sydney FF, 2025
Jafar Panahi
The cinema of Jafar Panahi (born in 1960, Mianeh, Iran) is often described as Iranian neo-realism. Regardless of how one chooses to categorize his powerful work, the unprecedented humanitarianism of Panahi’s films cannot be denied. Panahi’s cinema is urban, contemporary and rich with the details of human existence. Panahi’s The Circle won the Golden Lion at the 2000 Venice FF. The unsettling drama about the social dilemma of several modern Iranian women was named FIPRESCI’s "Film of the Year" and appeared on Top 10 lists of critics worldwide. Panahi debuted in 1995 with The White Balloon. Before that, he had made short documentaries and short fiction films and worked as assistant director, most notably for Abbas Kiarostami in Through the Olive Trees (1993) which boosted his career. Panahi made his first feature based on a script by Kiarostami. The White Balloon received Camera d’Or at the Cannes FF, as well as other prizes from various festivals. The story of a young girl’s adventures as she seeks to buy a lucky goldfish for New Year, The White Balloon marked the emergence of a new cinema talent. Panahi’s 1997 film, The Mirror, received the Locarno FF’s Golden Leopard, and confirmed the young director’s promise. Crimson Gold was selected in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2003 where it won the Jury Prize. It went on to win a number of best film awards and opened to excellent critical response.
Filmography
The Wounded Heads (doc., 1988), Kish (doc., 1991), The Friend (short, 1992), The Last Exam (short, 1992), A Second Look (doc., 1993), White Balloon (1995), Ardekoul (doc., 1997), The Mirror (1997), The Circle (2000), Crimson Gold (2003), Offside (2006), Untying the Knot (segment Persian Carpet, 2007,), This Is Not a Film (2010), Then and Now (parts Beyond Borders, Differences, 2010,), Closed Curtain (2013), Taxi (2015), Où en êtes-vous Jafar Panahi? (short, 2016), 3 Faces (2018), Celles qui chantent (doc., 2020), Hidden (short, 2020), The Year of the Everlasting Storm (segment Life, 2021), No Bears (2022), It Was Just an Accident (2025).
The cinema of Jafar Panahi (born in 1960, Mianeh, Iran) is often described as Iranian neo-realism. Regardless of how one chooses to categorize his powerful work, the unprecedented humanitarianism of Panahi’s films cannot be denied. Panahi’s cinema is urban, contemporary and rich with the details of human existence. Panahi’s The Circle won the Golden Lion at the 2000 Venice FF. The unsettling drama about the social dilemma of several modern Iranian women was named FIPRESCI’s "Film of the Year" and appeared on Top 10 lists of critics worldwide. Panahi debuted in 1995 with The White Balloon. Before that, he had made short documentaries and short fiction films and worked as assistant director, most notably for Abbas Kiarostami in Through the Olive Trees (1993) which boosted his career. Panahi made his first feature based on a script by Kiarostami. The White Balloon received Camera d’Or at the Cannes FF, as well as other prizes from various festivals. The story of a young girl’s adventures as she seeks to buy a lucky goldfish for New Year, The White Balloon marked the emergence of a new cinema talent. Panahi’s 1997 film, The Mirror, received the Locarno FF’s Golden Leopard, and confirmed the young director’s promise. Crimson Gold was selected in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2003 where it won the Jury Prize. It went on to win a number of best film awards and opened to excellent critical response.
Filmography
The Wounded Heads (doc., 1988), Kish (doc., 1991), The Friend (short, 1992), The Last Exam (short, 1992), A Second Look (doc., 1993), White Balloon (1995), Ardekoul (doc., 1997), The Mirror (1997), The Circle (2000), Crimson Gold (2003), Offside (2006), Untying the Knot (segment Persian Carpet, 2007,), This Is Not a Film (2010), Then and Now (parts Beyond Borders, Differences, 2010,), Closed Curtain (2013), Taxi (2015), Où en êtes-vous Jafar Panahi? (short, 2016), 3 Faces (2018), Celles qui chantent (doc., 2020), Hidden (short, 2020), The Year of the Everlasting Storm (segment Life, 2021), No Bears (2022), It Was Just an Accident (2025).
PHOTOS/TRAILER