Iranian director Jafar Panahi takes a lot of risks in his work.
The authorities could arrest him again for speaking out against the country's harsh regime. They could send him back to the notoriously cruel Evin Prison in Tehranwhich is home to many of Iran's political dissidents. He could put under house arrest again And It is forbidden to make films.
But Panahi, now 65, has largely ignored these attempts to silence him over the years, focusing instead on what he loves best: making films about his homeland.
When he was sent to prison and accused of “propaganda against the government”“, he went on a hunger strike until authorities released him on bail. His ban on filmmaking, which was supposed to last 20 years, ultimately served as creative inspiration, fueling critically acclaimed films. such as “This Is Not a Movie” and “Taxi”.
In his latest film, It Was Just an Accident, which opened in a limited number of North American theaters over the weekend, Panahi once again defied government attempts to censor his art, even though it meant putting himself at risk.
“You have to find a way to beat the system,” Panahi said in a recent interview conducted in Farsi at a hotel in Santa Monica, California, and translated into English by NBC News. Panahi, known for the signature sunglasses he wears to every event, sat in the lobby next to his interpreter after taking a cigarette break outside.
The director spent several months of intense travel around the world to promote his film, an acclaimed Oscar contender that was selected for distribution in North America by Neon. He also faced a number of Iran-related obstacles, including missing a screening at the New York Film Festival after the visa process was delayed. reportedly due to US government shutdown.
During the press tour, he continued to defend his position on the importance of freedom of expression.
It Was Just an Accident, a revenge drama filled with comedic moments, follows a group of Iranians who capture a man they suspect was their interrogator while they were in prison. They fight over the man they put in the back of their van and whether he is really a security guard, noting that they both have an artificial leg that makes a squeaking noise when they walk. The group also tries to understand the morality behind revenge and whether it makes them as bad as those who oppressed them.
Panahi reflected on how his time in prison influenced It Was Just an Accident, the first film he directed. spending seven months in Evin from 2022 to 2023.
“When you're in prison, it doesn't matter what group, what category, what party you belong to. We all live with each other. And then when you get out, you can't separate yourself from it. It all stays in your mind,” he said. “That experience stays in your brain, and after you leave… you feel like you have to do something to express it.”
The director has previously spoken about his time in prison, recalling being placed in solitary confinement and blindfolded during hours-long interrogations. In writing the film, he drew on his own experiences as well as those of other political prisoners he met there, making it one of his most personal endeavors to date.
But authorities in Iran control the media, so filmmakers need to approve their scripts to get permission to film. Although Panahi is no longer prohibited from making films, he chose to film in secret, filming in Iran for several weeks without official government permission due to the film's sensitive subject matter.
The crew filmed scenes in a remote desert location, in a van and on the streets of Tehran. Expecting trouble from the authorities, the crew also took precautions when moving around the city. Panahi told Vulture that in the summer of 2024 the film crew was stopped by the police during filming. They were asked to turn everything over, but they handed over an empty memory card from the camera, and not the footage itself.
They then waited several weeks to restart the project and ended up editing part of the film in France for safety reasons after the cast and crew clashed with authorities.
“If you want to make a film in Iran, you have to accept that it can't be done the usual way, you have to find an alternative way, and you either have to find it yourself or use the experience of other people to do it,” Panahi said.
Despite years of political dissent and the personal price he has paid, Panahi is humble. He explained that it is the people of Iran who deserve credit for continuing to oppose the government after the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, sparking massive months-long public protests dubbed the Women, Life, Freedom Movement.
“They are braver than me,” he said, noting that he is “well known” and therefore has “some protections.” The activists are “not known to anyone,” he said. They took to the streets, were jailed and released, but still continue to protest in their own way.
For example, in Iran there are women who now refuse to wear the mandatory hijab, instead walking around with their hair down. It's a subtle act of defiance that Panahi captures in his film, which shows the two female stars in public without headscarves in several scenes.
It was important to Panahi to portray “a true picture of Iran,” he said. “We've reached a point in history where everything is measured by whether it happened before or after the Women, Life, Freedom movement. If it had happened before and you showed in your film that there was a woman without a headscarf, it wouldn't be believable.”
Those who admire Panahi say his art serves as a powerful form of activism because he balances politics with a personal approach that helps bring levity to heavier topics.
At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Panahi received a prestigious award. Palm d'Or after the film received almost eight-minute standing ovation.
The win marked the second time an Iranian director has taken home the award (the first was Abbas Kiarostami, who won in 1997 for A Taste of Cherry). Panahi has won the top prize at all three major European film festivals, including the Golden Bear in Berlin for Taxi in 2015 and the Golden Lion in Venice for The Circle in 2000.
Oscar winner Juliette Binoche, who chaired the 2025 Cannes Film Festival jury, said It Was Just an Accident “stems from a sense of resistance, of survival, that is absolutely necessary today.”
“It’s both very human and political because he comes from a difficult country,” she said at the event. according to Deadline. “When we watched the film, it stood out.”
At the New York Film Festival earlier this month, Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese also praised Panahi and called for more streaming services champion of Iranian cinema.
As the film continues to receive positive reviews and compete for an Oscar nomination, Panahi plans to continue promoting it at events.
Other Iranian directors including Panahi's friend and fellow director Mohammad Rasouloffled Iran to avoid harsh punishment.
But when asked if he was afraid the Iranian government would come after him again, Panahi seemed undeterred.
“What are they going to do that hasn’t already been done?” – he said.
