Latest news with #LesFilmsPelléas
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Neon Sets Palme d'Or Winner ‘It Was Just an Accident' for October Release
This is no accident … you'll soon be able to see 2025 Palme d'Or winner 'It Was Just an Accident' in theaters on Oct. 15. Neon picked up Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's latest movie — 'یک تصادف ساده,' — out of the Cannes Film Festival last month, marking their sixth consecutive acquisition of the French event's top film. 'Inspired by Panahi's second Iranian incarceration, 'It Was Just an Accident' follows what begins as a minor accident as it sets in motion a series of escalating consequences,' according to Neon's Wednesday press release. Panahi spent almost 20 years in prison or under house arrest in Iran for making films that the country deemed to be anti-government propaganda. After winning the Caméra d'Or in 1995 for 'The White Balloon,' the director was able to attend Cannes this year despite a 20-year ban on making movies in 2010 and an additional prison sentence in 2022. In his positive review of the film, Steve Pond wrote that 'the bracing thing about 'It Was Just an Accident' is that it has married Panahi's wit and humanism with real anger; if many of his previous films lulled you into realizing his points about oppression and injustice, this one is downright confrontational, from the moment its action begins with a man driving away from a city in the dead of night and accidentally hitting and killing a dog.' Writer/director Panahi produced the film alongside Philippe Martin, with Sandrine Dumas and Christel Henon as co-producers and David Thion and Lilina Eche as associate producers. The film was a Les Films Pelléas and Jafar Panahi production from Iran/France and Luxembourg, with mk2 Films representing international rights. Neon previously worked with Panahi on 'The Year of the Everlasting Storm,' which played as a Cannes Special Screening in 2021. The independent film production and distribution company famously also brought recent Palme d'Or winners 'Anora,' 'Anatomy of a Fall,' 'Triangle of Sadness,' 'Titane' and 'Parasite' to American audiences. 'It Was Just an Accident' arrives in theaters on Oct. 15. The post Neon Sets Palme d'Or Winner 'It Was Just an Accident' for October Release appeared first on TheWrap.
Broadcast Pro
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Jafar Panahi wins Palme d'Or at Cannes for Iranian film ‘It Was Just an Accident'
The political thriller follows a former prisoner who abducts the man he believes was his torturer, sparking a tense moral struggle among fellow dissidents over whether to seek vengeance or choose forgiveness. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been awarded the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Palme d'Or, for his latest feature, It Was Just an Accident, a drama deeply rooted in his own experiences of incarceration under the Iranian regime. The film marks Panahi's first project since his release from prison in 2023, though the acclaimed director has defiantly continued making films over the years despite an official ban imposed by Iranian authorities. Widely hailed as his most personal work to date, It Was Just an Accident follows the intertwined lives of five former detainees who believe they've identified the anonymous figure responsible for their torture while imprisoned. Announcing the award, jury president Juliette Binoche praised the transformative power of art, stating, 'Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life.' Taking the stage to accept the prize, Panahi delivered a moving appeal for unity and freedom in Iran. 'Let us join forces,' he urged. 'No one should tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, or what we should or shouldn't do.' He emphasised that above all, the future of his country remains his deepest concern. The win not only reaffirms Panahi's place among the world's leading auteurs but also casts a spotlight on the continued repression of artists in Iran, turning Cannes' most prestigious honor into a powerful act of solidarity. Produced by Panahi's own Iranian production company in collaboration with France's Les Films Pelléas and Luxembourg-based partners, the film is co-produced by Philippe Martin, Sandrine Dumas and Christel Henon, with associate producers David Thion and Lilina Eche. The ceremony also honoured a range of international voices. Chinese director Bi Gan was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Resurrection, while Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi made history as the first from his country to win the Camera d'Or for his debut feature, The President's Cake.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Banned film-maker Jafar Panahi says friends lost hope he would direct again
Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, who has previously been arrested and jailed and whose films have been banned in Iran on multiple occasions, has said 'even my closest friends had given up hope that I would ever make films again'. Panahi was speaking at a press conference before the premiere of his new film A Simple Accident at the Cannes film festival, his first visit in 22 years since bringing Crimson Gold to Cannes in 2003. Panahi was released from jail in Iran in 2023, having been detained in 2022 after attempting to support fellow film-maker Mohammad Rasoulof and subsequently going on hunger strike. Panahi said: 'I said to myself I didn't know how to do anything else … I can't change a lightbulb, I can't work a screwdriver. I don't know how to do anything except make films.' A Simple Accident is the first film Panahi has made since his release. A thriller about a car accident that triggers a series of increasingly nightmarish events, the Guardian's chief film critic Peter Bradshaw described it as Panahi's 'most emotionally explicit film yet: a film about state violence and revenge, about the pain of tyranny that coexists with ostensible everyday normality'. It was produced by French company Les Films Pelléas, shot in Iran and edited in France. In the run-up to Cannes, Panahi spoke to the Guardian in his first newspaper interview for 15 years, despite being given a 20-year ban on speaking to the media in 2010. In the interview, Panahi said his recent time in jail led directly to the idea for his new film: 'I was in a large space with other political prisoners. Some of them had been there for 10 or 15 years. Their experience – their stories, their take on what captivity meant to them – was inspiring. It was like the world opened up to me. Gradually, I had an idea for a film that gathered these pieces together.' Panahi's clashes with authorities in Iran date as far back as 2003, when he was arrested at Tehran airport after returning from a film festival in Moscow. In 2010 he was sentenced to six years in jail for allegedly 'endangering national security' after the 'green movement' protests against Iran's government. His sentence was later changed to house arrest and restriction of movement. Panahi continued to make films in defiance of the authorities, including This Is Not a Film from 2011, which was shown at Cannes after being smuggled out of Iran on a USB drive hidden inside a cake, Closed Curtain, shot inside a house with the curtains closed, and which won the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the Berlin film festival in 2013 and Taxi Tehran, entirely shot inside cars, which won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2015. He also won the best screenplay award at Cannes for 2018's 3 Faces and the special jury prize at Venice for 2022's No Bears. Panahi said at the Cannes press conference that he had no intention of giving up work. 'I behave just like other Iranians, I'm not a special case in any matter. The Iranian women are forbidden to go out without a headscarf but still they do so. I'm not doing anything more heroic. As soon as I finish my work here I will go back to Iran, the next day. And I will ask myself what's my next film going to be.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jafar Panahi Makes Triumphant Cannes Return After Prison Release With ‘It Was Just an Accident,' Earning Near 8-Minute Ovation
Dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi struck a chord with 'It Was Just an Accident,' one of his most political movies, and his first film since being released from jail in Iran. The movie, which marks his comeback in competition at Cannes seven years after 'Three Faces,' was greeted with a nearly eight-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Tuesday. After the roaring applause died down, Panahi made an emotional speech in which he paid homage to the filmmakers who are currently imprisoned in Iran, saying he felt some guilt upon being released from prison. 'I turned around and saw a very high wall. And behind this wall, all these other loved ones, all these people remained behind this wall,' he said. 'So I wondered how I could be happy, how I could feel free, if they were still inside.' More from Variety Jafar Panahi Speaks Out for First Time in 14 Years as New Film 'It Was Just an Accident' Premieres at Cannes: I Spent 'Eight Hours a Day Blindfolded' and 'Being Interrogated' in Iran Prison Taraji P. Henson Says Hollywood 'Lied to Me' About Black Movies and TV Not Selling Overseas, Spent Years Being 'Graceful in Getting Paid Less ... Not Anymore Though!' Spike Lee Says Denzel Washington Deserved Oscar for 'Malcolm X' Over Al Pacino: 'It's Like Basketball, Where the Ref Blows a Call' He continued: 'Today, I'm here with you, I receive this joy, but I feel the same emotion. How can I rejoice? How can I be free while in Iran, there are still so many of the greatest directors and actresses of Iranian cinema, who, because they participated in and supported the demonstrators during the Femme Liberté movement, are today prevented from working?' Wearing dark glasses, Panahi's voice was shaking as he spoke. He wasn't alone in his emotion — 'It Was Just an Accident' left many audience members wiping away tears as well. Shot in Iran without a permit, 'It Was Just an Accident' features women who aren't wearing a hijab as a symbol of rebellion against the country's oppressive hijab law. 'It Was Just an Accident' is also his first film since his travel ban was lifted after 14 years. Panahi's 2021 documentary 'The Year of the Everlasting Storm' played in Special Screenings in Cannes, but he did not attend the festival. His 2018 film 'Three Faces' won best screenplay. 'It Was Just an Accident' is well positioned to scoop an award at Cannes, whose jury is presided by the politically engaged actor Juliette Binoche. Panahi, who is considered one of Iranian cinema's greatest auteurs, previously won prizes 'The Circle,' 'Offside,' 'This is Not a Film,' 'Taxi' and 'No Bears,' winner of the Venice Film Festival's 2022 Special Jury Prize. 'Taxi' won the Berlin Golden Bear in 2015, while his 'Offside' won the Silver Bear in 2006. Arrested by Iranian authorities in July 2022 after signing an appeal against police violence, Panahi spent several months behind bars. Panahi produced 'It Was Just an Accident' with Les Films Pelléas, the production company behind 'Anatomy of a Fall.' It's co-produced by Bidibul Productions and Pio &Co. Panahi is one of the two leading Iranian filmmakers attending Cannes this year, alongside Saeed Roustaee who is also presenting his movie 'Mother and Child' in competition. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
