Golden palm for Jafar Panahi: Triumph despite 14 years of ban!

Golden palm for Jafar Panahi: Triumph despite 14 years of ban!

The Cannes Film Festival 2025 graduated with great expectations and numerous highlights. On May 24, 2025, the Iranian Jafar Panahi was awarded the prestigious golden palm for his work "Un Simple Accident". This honor is a significant moment in Panahi's career, especially after a 14-year travel ban, which was imposed on him by the Iranian regime. His film received an impressive standing ovation of eight minutes at the premiere on May 20, 2025, which significantly increased the anticipation for the awards.

The film tells the story of the mid -forties Eghbal, who accidentally runs a dog when driving. This incident leads him into an extraordinary and dramatic situation in which he is confronted with the spirits of his past. The narrative, which is inspired by Ariel Dorfman, mixes absurd humor with profound topics such as trauma and retaliation.

awards and jury

The jury, under the direction of Juliette Binoche, awarded various prizes. In addition to Panahi, the Berlin director Mascha Schilinski received the prize of the jury for her film "Watch in the sun", a production that also emphasizes the Viennese actress Susanne Wuest. Schilinski shared the award with Oliver Laxe for his film "Sirât".

The award ceremony, moderated by Laurent Lafitte, also brought other significant awards. Wagner Mourra was honored as the best actor for his representation in the film "The Secret Agent", while Nadia Melliti received the prize for the best actress for her role in "The Little Sister". A special prize went to BI GAN for "Resurrection", China's sci-fi contribution. For the best script, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne were awarded for "Young Mother".

The meaning of Panahi's victory

Jafar Panahi expressed great importance for him. After making films in secrecy despite regime -related challenges in recent years, "Un Simple Accident" is considered a particularly powerful work. The film explored the moral dilemma of its characters, while Panahi, even in his work, no longer appeared as an actor, which is a conscious break with his previous work.

The importance of his victory is also underlined by the fact that the award for the US distributor Neon is already the sixth success in a row. Despite a temporary power failure in Cannes, the event went smoothly, which underlines the high professionalism of implementation.

Overall, this year's noble award is clear proof of the artistic strength and the unshakable influence of the cinema, as from OE24 reported. It is therefore to be hoped that the cinematic voice of Panahi and other directors will continue to be heard in the future. While Slate The influence of Panahi's work on the international cinema and the urgently needed artistic freedom.