It Was Just an Accident

Directed by Jafar Panahi
PG-13; 103 minutes

“All the way through, Panahi delivers on its fireworks promise with a plot that, while deceptively simple, is alive with moral complexity.” —Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), an unassuming mechanic, is suddenly reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he has a chance encounter with Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), a man he strongly suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, Vahid rounds up a few of his fellow ex-prisoners to try and confirm Eghbal's identity. Master filmmaker Jafar Panahi creates a deeply felt moral thriller, where high-stakes tension mixes with unexpected flurries of humor and thoughtful, sometimes devastating questions about persecution and revenge. It Was Just an Accident won the Palm d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

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