"Jafar Panahi has had quite a year. The Iranian dissident, who has been in and out of prison and suffered travel bans over the past 15 years, was finally able to show up in person at the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival in May to accept his Palme d'Or for "It Was Just an Accident" ( Neon), a feature he shot in secret in his home country."
"The Academy members all over the world who opt in to participate in the international voting make up about twenty percent, or 2,000, of the 10,000 overall voters. (Non-American voters comprise 24 percent of the Academy at large.) No longer called the "international committee," these volunteers must watch twelve or thirteen assigned features out of the 86 eligible films, whether at festivals or screenings or on the Academy Screening portal, but usually view thirty or more."
"A few days later at the Marrakech International Film Festival, Panahi told a theater audience, "I can't do anything else but make films." He'll return to the U.S. to attend the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards in January, on the road to possible Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Oscar nominations."
He shot the feature It Was Just an Accident secretly in Iran; a friend drove the footage out and he edited the film in Paris. Neon handled U.S. promotion and he toured festivals including Telluride, New York, Toronto, and Middleburg, giving interviews and Q&As. He attended Cannes in person to accept the Palme d'Or and then traveled the country on an "Accidental Tour." He was later sentenced in absentia in Iran while France submitted the film for Oscars. He plans to attend Critics Choice and Golden Globes en route to potential Academy nominations. About 2,000 international Academy voters opt in to watch assigned eligible films and rank them on preferential ballots that produce shortlists.
Read at IndieWire
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