For the first time in more than two decades, the esteemed Iranian director Jafar Panahi addressed the media at the Cannes Film Festival, not remotely from his confines under house arrest in Tehran, but as a liberated spirit, standing tall among his peers. During the press conference for his competition entry, It Was Just an Accident, Panahi reminisced about his long-anticipated return to the Croisette and the profound significance of representing the voices that remain suppressed within Iran.
Cannes 2023 marks Panahi's triumphant reemergence at the festival, a resurgence unseen since 2003, when Crimson Gold garnered the Un Certain Regard award. Only recently, following his release from prison in February 2023—a release secured through a valiant hunger strike—has Panahi been able to travel freely. The conviction that banned him from both filmmaking and travel in 2010 was overturned, granting him the liberty to work and move as his heart desired. "It took me some time to regain my footing and reimmerse myself in my craft," Panahi reflected, "and this film [It Was Just An Accident] is the fruit of that labor."
It Was Just an Accident stands as one of Panahi's most politically charged works to date. Secretly filmed within Iran, the movie defiantly features unveiled female characters, a bold gesture against the country's hijab law. It narratives the journey of a group of former state prisoners, torn between seeking revenge against their tormentor and moving forward.
"In a sense, I am not the sole creator of this film," Panahi confessed to THR in an extensive interview preceding the film's premiere. "The Islamic Republic crafted this film, by imprisoning me. Perhaps, upon witnessing this film, they will comprehend the folly of locking artists behind bars... Perhaps, if they wish to curb our subversive tendencies, they should refrain from incarcerating us."
At the press conference, Panahi emphasized that his films are "invariably inspired by the milieu in which I find myself." Prior to his incarceration, his milieu was Iranian society. However, "once imprisoned, one is inevitably influenced and shaped by the observations and realities witnessed within those confines."
Mariam Afshari, one of the film's stars, echoed this sentiment, asserting that cinema is "a medium to illuminate our collective experiences and struggles."
The film's naturalistic style and underlying tension evoke Panahi's earlier masterpieces, such as The Circle and Offside, standing in stark contrast to the introspective and constrained projects he created during his official filmmaking ban, like This Is Not a Film and Taxi. Though it avoids overt autobiographical elements, its themes of imprisonment, trauma, and resistance resonate deeply with the director's personal journey.
Panahi reminisced about the harrowing conditions of his confinement, confined to a minute 5-by-8-foot cell. "In there, I scarcely had the space to stretch out or take a few steps. To relieve myself, I was compelled to ring a bell," he recounted. "I was granted permission to use the restroom just two to three times a day. Whenever I had to step out of my cell, my eyes were covered with a blindfold, which could only be removed inside the toilet."
Throughout his incarceration, Panahi revealed, he was relentlessly grilled, often enduring interrogations for eight hours daily. "On one occasion, it was time for prayer, and my interrogator stepped out for the service, only to resume the questioning upon his return," he recounted. However, Panahi emphasized that countless others had borne far greater hardships, pointing out that his co-screenwriter had been reincarcerated. "It is the plight of the Iranian people who have been ensnared in captivity for the past four decades," he observed.
Despite grappling with decades of censorship, mistreatment, and an official filmmaking ban, Panahi asserted that surrender was never an option. "Throughout my 20-year cinema ban, even my closest companions had lost hope that I would ever direct another film," he said. "But I sought solutions, telling myself that I was incompetent in anything else… I can't even change a lightbulb or wield a screwdriver. Filmmaking is the sole skill I possess."
Similar to his productions during his official ban, 'It Was Just An Accident' was crafted in secrecy, sans the Iranian regime's approval.
The film's premiere at Cannes on Tuesday garnered an enthusiastic reception, eliciting an eight-minute standing ovation, with scarcely a dry eye in the audience. In a heartfelt speech, Panahi paid homage to the numerous Iranian directors, actors, and activists who remain imprisoned or banned from working in the wake of the Femme Liberté protests.
Regardless of how the Iranian regime responds to his latest venture, Panahi vows to carry his fight to the very end."I conduct myself like any other Iranian; I am not an exception in any regard," he stated. "Iranian women are prohibited from venturing out without a hijab, yet they defy this edict," he continued. "I am not performing any heroic deeds. Upon completing my duties here, I will return to Iran the very next day. And I will ponder on what my next film will entail."
