"From its opening head-on shot of a family driving down an unlit road to its devastating, confrontational climax, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident frequently deploys long takes to situate the audience within moral discomfort. While that formal restraint runs through the entire film, it still leaves room for a diverse editing style befitting Panahi's first feature since the suspension of his twenty-year filmmaking ban."
"Editor Amir Etminan first worked with Panahi on his 2020 short film Hidden, which follows the director, his daughter and their associate traveling to a rural Kurdish village to visit a gifted singer whose parents forbid her from performing. Etminan then went on to co-edit Hit the Road (2021)-the debut feature from Panah, Jafar Panahi's son-before solo editing No Bears (2022)."
"I spoke with editor Etminan via an interpreter from their home in Istanbul to discuss his working relationship with Panahi, how he gained his trust by co-editing his son's debut feature Hit the Road and why filmmakers have a responsibility to differentiate themselves from authoritarians. Filmmaker: First off, congratulations on the beautiful film, and thank you so much for making the time to talk. Are you safe in general? Are you or your loved ones affected in any way by [Panahi's] jail sentence?"
It Was Just an Accident combines sustained long takes with varied cutting rhythms to create moral discomfort and a slightly off-balance, volatile tone that shifts between humor and pathos. The film centers victims who weigh the value and spiritual cost of revenge. Editor Amir Etminan previously worked on the 2020 short Hidden, co-edited Hit the Road (2021) and solo edited No Bears (2022). Etminan maintained raw realism while working minimally under clandestine conditions and earned acclaim for balancing formal restraint with diverse editing choices. Jafar Panahi was later sentenced in absentia to one year for "propaganda activities."
Read at Filmmaker Magazine
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