Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has released a new film challenging state censorship, and it has generated buzz around a possible Oscar.
The 65-year-old director faces pressure for criticizing Iran’s rulers but continues to create films that portray everyday life in his country.
He faces the threat of arrest and government restrictions.
Panahi’s latest work, “It Was Just an Accident,” opened in limited North American theaters over the weekend.
The film centers on a group of former prisoners who believe they’ve found their old interrogator and must decide how far they’re willing to go to get justice.
The project is Panahi’s first film since his release from Tehran’s Evin Prison in 2023, where he was held for seven months on charges of “propagandizing against the government.”
“When you are imprisoned, it does not matter which group, which category and which party you are. We are all living with each other,” Panahi said in an interview with NBC News.
“This experience stays in your brain, and after you leave … you feel like you have to do something to express this.”
Though his filmmaking ban has officially ended, Panahi shot the film in secret in Iran without government approval.
The authorities require script approval and filming licenses, which Panahi said were impossible to obtain for a politically sensitive project.
The crew filmed in Tehran and in remote desert locations, taking steps to conceal their work.
Panahi told Vulture that during the summer of 2024, police stopped the team during shooting, and they avoided losing their footage by handing over an empty memory card.
Some postproduction was completed in France for security reasons.
“If you want to make a movie in Iran, you have to accept that is not possible through a regular path,” he said. “You have to find an alternative path.”
Panahi said “It Was Just an Accident” draws heavily on his own time in prison and on stories from fellow political detainees.
He said he wanted to portray an honest image of modern Iran, including women appearing without mandatory headscarves — something increasingly common since the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom movement that followed.
At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Palme d’Or after receiving an extended standing ovation.
It was the second time an Iranian filmmaker received the top prize, following Abbas Kiarostami’s 1997 win.
The jury’s president, Juliette Binoche, called the film “very human and political at the same time.”
While the film has drawn global acclaim and Oscar attention, Panahi remains in Iran and appears undeterred by the risks.
Asked whether he fears further retaliation from authorities, he said, “What are they going to do that they haven’t done already?”
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