Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident has won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, which wrapped on Saturday night (May 25).
It is the Iranian director’s first film since his release from prison and follows a man, his heavily pregnant wife, and their young daughter as they get into a minor car accident that sets off a dark chain of events.
In his speech Panahi addressed “all Iranians, with different opinions, in Iran and around the world”. He said: “The most important thing is our country and the freedom of our country. Let’s arrive at this moment, together, when no one dares to say what we should wear, what we should or shouldn’t do.”
The win marks a remarkable sixth consecutive Palme d’Or triumph for US company Neon, which holds North American rights (Mubi has multiple international territories), as it has done with the last five winners Anora, Anatomy Of A Fall, Triangle Of Sadness, Titane, and Parasite.
There were six awards in all from five films on the Cannes slate of French powerhouse mk2 (It Was Just An Accident, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, The Sound Of Falling, and The Little Sister), and five from four films on Neon’s roster (It Was Just An Accident, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and Sirât).
Earlier in the day It Was Just An Accident jointly topped Screen’s Cannes jury grid grid alongside Two Prosecutors.
The ceremony went without a hitch despite a massive power outage that cut electricity across the South of France earlier in the day and saw the complete shutdown of all activity in Cannes. By around 3pm local time, power had returned as talent and organisers scrambled to get ready for the red carpet.
Other awards
Sentimental Value
SOURCE: CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
‘SENTIMENTAL VALUE’
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value took the Grand Prix. Trier’s third picture in Cannes Competition stars Renate Reinsve as a stage actress who has a complicated relationship with her estranged father, played by Stellan Skarsgard.
The best actress award went to Nadia Melliti for her role as a 17-year-old French Algerian woman grappling with her attraction to women and her Muslim faith in Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s 1970s-set Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent won two prizes. Filho was named best director and accepted the best actor prize for Wagner Moura. For a brief moment Filho was missing in action when his name was called out and the audience could be heard shouting, “Where is he?”. “I was drinking champagne” the filmmaker joked while rushing back on stage.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph handed out the jury prize that was shared by Oliver Laxe’s Sirât and Mascha Schilinski’s Sound Of Falling.
Two-time Palme d’Or-winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne won the best screenplay award for Young Mothers, about five girls grappling with the challenges of parenting a newborn.
The Camera d’Or, awarded to the best debut feature through all sections, went to Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake (Directors’ Fortnight), with a special mention going to Akinola Davies Jr’s My Father’s Shadow that played in Un Certain Regard. The award for The President’s Cake is the first to be given to an Iraqi film in Cannes.
Chinese director Bi Gan’s fantasy epic Resurrection won the special award.
The ceremony was hosted by French actor Laurent Lafitte, who kicked off the night by reminding everyone that “the essence of the festival is still the same – the films and those who make them”.
This year’s jury comprised president Juliette Binoche, plus Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Payal Kapadia, Alba Rohrwacher, Leila Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sangsoo, and Carlos Reygadas.
The prizes for the Un Certain Regard strand and the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week sidebars were announced earlier this week
Cannes 2025 Competition awards
Palme d’Or: It Was Just An Accident, dir. Jafar Panahi
Grand Prix: Sentimental Value, dir. Joachim Trier
Jury Prize: tie between Sirat, dir. Oliver Laxe and The Sound Of Falling, dir. Mascha Schilinski
Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Young Mothers
Best Actress: Nadia Melliti, The Little Sister
Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Special Award: Resurrection, dir. Bi Gan
Camera d’Or: The President’s Cake, dir. Hasan Hadi
Special mention: My Father’s Shadow, dir. Akinola Davies Jr
Short Film Palme d’Or: I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, dir. Tawfeek Barhom
Special Mention: Ali, dir. Adnan Al Rajeev.
Credit: Scree Daily
