Iranian film "A Simple Accident" wins the Palme d'Or: discover the complete list of winners of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
By The New Obs
Published on , updated on
Iranian director Jafar Panahi receives the Palme d'Or for his film "A Simple Accident" SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP
The jury, led by Juliette Binoche, chose to send a clear political message by awarding this film by director Jafar Panahi. It will be released in theaters this September.
After two weeks of competition, the jury of the 78th Cannes Film Festival has delivered its verdict. The nine members of the jury, led by French star Juliette Binoche , chose to honor "A Simple Accident" by Iranian director Jafar Panahi. Visibly moved, the 64-year-old filmmaker was able to personally receive his award on the Cannes stage. Since his conviction in 2010 for "propaganda against the regime," he had been unable to honor any of these international events. "A Simple Accident" follows "Anora" by American Sean Baker.
(And for those who are disappointed with the list, you can always find the one from “Nouvel Obs” here).
Palme d’Or: “A Simple Accident” by Jafar PanahiA highly successful thriller, "A Simple Accident" tells the story of a man kidnapped by former inmates convinced he was their torturer in prison. The feature film is also a reflection on justice and revenge in the face of arbitrary power.
Awarding the Palme d'Or to Jafar Panahi is a strong, even political, signal, after Mohammad Rasoulof's "Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree" was "only" awarded a Special Jury Prize in 2024, despite many promising it the Palme d'Or. The film will be released in theaters on September 10.
Grand Prize: “Sentimental Value” by Joachim Trier"Sentimental Value" marks the comeback of Norwegian director Joachim Trier and his actress Renate Reinsve. The return of a famous filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgaard) to business and the lives of his two daughters, one of whom, an actress (Renate Reinsve), refuses to star in his next film and is replaced by an ambitious Hollywood starlet (Elle Fanning), this dramedy promises to be a follow-up to "Julie in 12 Chapters," lively and playful, before revealing its deep melancholy under heavy Bergman-Chekhov-Woody Allenian influence. The film will be released in theaters on August 20.
Best Actress Award: Nadia Melliti, for her role in “La Petite Dernière”
Nadia Melliti wins Best Actress Award for her role in "La Petite Dernière" VALERY HACHE / AFP
Her name kept coming up repeatedly for this award throughout the fortnight, as her remarkable performance clearly deserved to be recognized. In "La Petite Dernière," Hafsia Herzi's third film as director, she plays a young lesbian woman in a Muslim family. It is an adaptation of a novel by Fatima Daas, and stars non-professional actors. The film will be released in theaters on October 1st.
Also read
Portrait of the Northern Neighborhoods of Marseille at the Cannes Film Festival: Who is Hafsia Herzi, director of "La Petite Dernière"?
Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho's film "The Secret Agent" takes us back to 1977 in Brazil during the military dictatorship and follows the return home to his beloved city of Recife of a man with a troubled past who introduces himself as Marcello. Having come to find his young son, who is being raised by his in-laws, he reconnects with his past and discovers himself the target of mercenaries tasked with eliminating him. The film will be released together on January 14, 2026.
Jury Prize shared by “Sirat” by Oliver Laxe and..."Sirat," directed by Franco-Spanish director Oliver Laxe (discovered in 2016 at Critics' Week with "Mimosas, the Way of the Atlas" ), is a cinematic trip like we don't get to experience enough of. A road movie in the Moroccan desert between a father and his 12-year-old son, searching for their missing older daughter and sister, who join a community of itinerant ravers, on the fringes of a militarized world descending into chaos. The film will be released in theaters on September 3.
... and “Sound of falling” by Mascha SchilinskiThe second film by German director Mascha Schilinski (after the previously unreleased "Die Töchter" ) tackles a highly feminist subject, the Protestant rigor of a Bergman-Hanekian mood, and the powerful directorial gesture. It is the latter that, in our eyes, is worth the detour, like its crazy ambition: to embody the female psyche of a family in the German countryside during the 20th century . The film's theatrical release date is not yet known.
Best Screenplay Award: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for “Young Mothers”Second prize for best screenplay for the two brothers, already twice honored with the Palme d'Or. This is a unique film that the Dardenne brothers have produced, brighter and more diverse than their previous films, freed for once from the terrible deadlines that transform each of their social chronicles into a diabolical countdown. The intertwined destinies of five young girls catapulted prematurely into the throes of motherhood, "Young Mothers" recounts the weight of parental priesthood, its almost animal mystery, and its extra anguish and emotion when it is coupled with social deprivation. The film has been in theaters since May 21.
Also read
Interview with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne: "This time, we wanted our heroines to make it through"
