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Neon Buys Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Competition Film ‘It Was Just An Accident’
- On May 20, 2025, Iranian director Jafar Panahi premiered his film It Was Just an Accident during the cinematic event held in Cannes, France.
- Panahi made the film following his release from a long prison sentence imposed for alleged propaganda, which banned his filmmaking and travel for years.
- The film, inspired partly by Panahi's second incarceration, depicts a minor accident that triggers escalating consequences and examines political repression in Iran.
- Critics praised It Was Just an Accident as confrontational and deeply personal, with Steve Pond noting it married Panahi's wit and humanism with real anger.
- Neon acquired North American rights and plans a 2025 theatrical release, marking Panahi's first Cannes appearance in 20 years and signaling his return to global cinema.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Neon Nabs Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' After Cannes Debut
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi made his first in-person appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in two decades this week to debut his new film “It Was Just an Accident,” and now he’s walking away with distribution from one of the hottest studios around. Neon has picked up North American rights to the drama, which debuted this week to rave reviews as Panahi drew from his own experience being detained and imprisoned by the Iranian government to tel…
Neon Buys Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Competition Film ‘It Was Just An Accident’
EXCLUSIVE: Neon has picked up North American rights to Jafar Panahi’s well-received feature It Was Just an Accident, which had its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week. It Was Just an Accident has a one-line synopsis that reads: “What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.” The film, […]
Cannes, the Refined, Millimetric and Essential Cinema of Panahi Returns with A Simple Accident
After years of banishment, harassment, threats, hunger strikes and homemade movies, finally Jafar Panahi has returned to attend his films. Indescribable the emotion of his and the audience who gave him 10 minutes of standing ovation when he appeared at the Grand Théâtre Lumière at the 78th Cannes Film Festival to accompany his new movie, A Simple Occident, a strong competitor to Palma d'Oro. I am happy to be here, I dedicate your applause to tho…
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