Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi received the Palme d’Or on the Cannes Movie Competition on Saturday for his revenge thriller “It Was Simply an Accident,” handing the competition’s high prize to a director who had been banned from leaving Iran for greater than 15 years.
Cate Blanchett introduced the award to Panahi, who three years in the past was imprisoned in Iran earlier than happening a starvation strike. For a decade and a half, he has made movies clandestinely in his native nation, together with one movie (“This Is Not a Movie”) made in his lounge, and one other (“Taxi”) set in a automotive.
The group rose in a thunderous standing ovation for the filmmaker, who instantly threw up his arms and leaned again in his seat in disbelief earlier than applauding his collaborators and the viewers round him. On stage, Panahi was cheered by Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche, who in 2010 on the competition held up Panahi’s identify to honor the director then underneath home arrest.
On stage, Panahi mentioned what mattered most was freedom in his nation.
“Allow us to be a part of forces,” mentioned Panahi. “Nobody ought to dare inform us what sort of garments we should always put on, what we should always do or what we should always not do. The cinema is a society. No person is entitled to inform what we should always or chorus from doing.”
“Let’s proceed to hope,” he concluded.
The win for “It Was Simply an Accident” prolong one of the unprecedented streaks in films: The indie distributor Neon has backed the final six Palme d’or winners. Neon, which acquired “It Was Simply an Accident” for North American distribution after its premiere in Cannes, follows its Palmes for “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Unhappiness,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Anora.”
All these movies have been Oscar contenders and two, “Parasite” and “Anora,” received finest image.
Final yr, filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof fled Iran to attend the premiere of his movie in Cannes, and resettle in Germany. Panahi, although, has mentioned life in exile is not for him. He deliberate to fly house to Tehran on Sunday.
“It Was Simply an Accident” was impressed by Panahi’s expertise in jail. In it, a bunch of former prisoners encounter the person who terrorized them in jail, and weigh whether or not or to not kill him.
“The movie springs from a sense of resistance, survival, which is totally essential right now,” Binoche informed reporters after the ceremony. “Artwork will all the time win. What’s human will all the time win.”
The Cannes closing ceremony adopted a significant energy outage that struck southeastern France on Saturday in what police suspected was arson. Just a few hours earlier than stars started streaming down the crimson carpet, energy was restored in Cannes.
Different winners on the 2025 Cannes Movie Competition
The Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Trier’s Norwegian household drama “Sentimental Worth,” his lauded follow-up to “The Worst Particular person within the World.” Some had anticipated “Sentimental Worth” to win the Palme, however Trier — whose movie reunites him with actor Renate Reinsve — nonetheless took a significant prize.
“We dwell in a time of super extra and saturation of photos. Shifting photos are being thrown at us on a regular basis,” mentioned Trier. “And I need to give homage to the Cannes Movie Competition for being a spot the place the massive cinematic picture, which is the inspiration of the shifting picture, the free picture, the picture that we take time to have a look at, the picture the place we are able to establish with one another in contemplation and empathy, to be cherished on this place in such a method is essential on this second.”
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent” received two massive awards: finest director for Filho and finest actor for Wagner Moura. Although Cannes juries are usually urged to unfold awards round, the 2 for “The Secret Agent” confirmed the jury’s robust emotions for it. Requested concerning the two prizes, juror Jeremy Robust defined, merely, “That was our want.”
The wins, which adopted the worldwide movie Oscar victory for Walter Salles’ “I am Nonetheless Right here” in March, gave Brazil extra to rejoice. On X, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, mentioned the awards “present that our nation’s cinema is second to none.”
The jury prize was break up between two movies: Óliver Laxe’s desert street journey “Sirât ” and Mascha Schilinski’s German, generation-spanning drama “Sound of Falling.” Greatest actress went to Nadia Melliti for “The Little Sister,” Hafsia Herzi’s French coming-of-age drama.
The Belgian brothers Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardennes, who’re two-time Palme d’Or winners, received finest screenplay for his or her newest drama, “Younger Moms.” Cannes’ award for finest first movie went to Hasan Hadi, for “The President’s Cake,” making it the primary Iraqi movie to win an award on the competition.
What else formed Cannes this yr
Saturday’s ceremony brings to an in depth a 78th Cannes Movie Competition the place geopolitics solid a protracted shadow, each on display screen and off. Shortly earlier than the French Riviera extravaganza, which can be the world’s largest film market, U.S. President Donald Trump floated the thought of a 100% tariff on films made abroad.
Most filmmakers responded with a shrug, calling the plan illogical. “Are you able to maintain up the film in customs? It does not ship that method,” mentioned Wes Anderson, who premiered his newest, “The Phoenician Scheme” on the competition.
That was one of many high American movies in Cannes, together with Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” the Christopher McQuarrie-Tom Cruise actioner “Mission: Unimaginable — Last Reckoning” and Ari Aster’s “Eddington.”