The regime denounces the “political” Palme d’Or awarded to dissident Jafar Panahi

Until recently, under house arrest and banned from filming, but having won multiple international awards, 64-year-old Jafar Panahi was able to travel to Cannes. It was the first time in fifteen years that he had been able to participate in a festival.

The filmmaker took the opportunity to call on “all groups fighting for freedom and democracy,” both inside and outside the country, to unite against the regime. “I hope we regain our freedom as soon as possible so that no one can tell us what we should or should not wear, what films we should or should not make,” Jafar Panahi was quoted as saying by opposition media outlet Radio Farda .

The film features former prisoners who, following a "simple accident" on the road, recognize their torturer, the one who ruined their lives, and kidnap him. While all Iranian filmmakers must obtain permission to make a film, A Simple Accident was filmed clandestinely, defying the rules imposed by the Iranian regime: not only does it denounce the torture inflicted in prisons, but its main actresses appear without headscarves.

Iranian authorities have not publicly responded to Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or, and state television has not broadcast any information about the event. The moderate conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan claimed that Panahi owes his award solely to his status as an opponent of the Islamic Republic. "He had already received the Golden Bear in Berlin, but Western critics did not give him a place in the pantheon of outstanding filmmakers," the newspaper reported.

The ultraconservative media outlet SNN, for its part, denounces Jafar Panahi as a director whose “disgusting” works are “far removed from the noble nation” of Iran. “This is a political homage, especially since French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also wrote a message on X praising this ridiculous work,” SNN claims.

The House of Cinema, which brings together professional associations, however, in a brief statement, proudly saluted Jafar Panahi and all his collaborators for winning the Palme d'Or. "This award testifies to the continuity of creativity in Iranian cinema. It returns once again to our cinema after many years," said the statement quoted by the reformist daily Shargh . Jafar Panahi is in fact "the second Iranian filmmaker to win this award, after Abbas Kiarostami," recalls the daily Etemad , which broadcasts a short video of the award announcement.

On social media, many Iranians, including those opposed to the regime, expressed their joy and congratulated Jafar Panahi. “This victory is not an accident,” wrote human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, on Instagram , referring to the film’s title.

Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or "is the result of an unwavering dedication to the defense of humanist values ​​and human rights," said ^Ms. Mohammadi, congratulating "the Iranian people and Jafar Panahi."