Why Jafar Panahi's Palm d'Or Win is a Beacon of Hope

On April 1st of 2010, filmmaker, Jafar Panahi was apprehended by Iranian authorities and was held in Tehran's Evin Prison for three months for seemingly no reason. In December of that year he was charged with "propaganda against the regime" and sentenced to six years in prison in addition to a strict 20 year ban on filmmaking, writing, interviews, and international travel. Despite this devastating threat, Panahi continued to release films and speak out against Iran's oppressive regime. And after years using his art to stand up for his beliefs, he was awarded the highest honor in the world of film this past week when his newest film, A Simple Accident received the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Serving as not only a win for Panahi, but also the people of Iran and the film world at large.

Since his 1995 feature, The White Balloon, Jafar Panahi has been one of the most prolific filmmakers to come out of the Middle East. Out of his twelve feature films, nearly all of them were banned prior to release in his home country of Iran, with five of them being made entirely without the knowledge of the Persian government for fear of political persecution.

Panahi is a filmmaker who understands more than most, the power of art. He risks his life more and more with every new project, having been arrested numerous times in the past for speaking out against the government of Iran with his films both with subtlety and blatancy. His 2015 film, Taxi won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for its portrayal of everyday life in Iran, consisting of both real and scripted encounters with Tehran residents as he worked as a cab driver around the city.

Unlike Taxi, his latest film, A Simple Accident (also known as It Was Just An Accident) is entirely a work of narrative fiction. The film follows a group of people who have recently abducted a man they are convinced is the prison guard who tortured them years ago. Initially they are dead set on killing him, but over the course of a day, they grow more skeptical about the man's identity and if getting revenge is the best course of action.

A few days ago, the film won Panahi the Palm d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, which makes him one of four filmmakers in history to win the top prize at all of the "big three" film festivals after winning both the Golden Bear at Berlin and the Golden Lion at Venice.

Photo credit: Manon Cruz

A Simple Accident is a film about wrath and anger, but it's also about pondering your actions and always thinking about the greater good. At first, the film's characters are certain that they want to take this man they've captured and cause him they same pain he caused them all those years ago, but as the day goes on, lines blur, emotions run high, and the right course of action gets less and less clear. Together, these characters exhibit more empathy and caution than the present day Iranian government when it comes to their dissenters. As the film goes on, their level of certainty that they even have the right man dwindles and the audience is left wondering if the protagonists they've been following this whole time are the good guys after all.

Understandably, the Persian government is not happy with A Simple Accident, because of how it draws attention to the mistreatment of protesters in the country. Those who oppose Iran's oppressive policies have been historically subject to arrest, prison time, and even physical torture, all of which Panahi has personally experienced. But through all the abuse and disapproval from his home country, Panahi refuses to give up. No matter how many threats are thrown his way, he never stops using his voice to stand up for what he believes in.

Jafar Panahi winning the highest honor in the film world is not just a well-deserved payoff for all of his activism, it also serves as a beacon of hope in this bleak world. It's no secret that for years now, the world has been a dark place, and politics that were once just a difference of opinion have now become a difference of morality.

In the words of Stanley Kubrick: "however vast the darkness, we must supply our own light" and it's clear that Panahi is trying to supply his own light in this dismal time. Despite threats of torture and imprisonment, Panahi refuses to stop speaking up for what he believes in. Hopefully this historic win sparks some positive change in the world and encourages others to use their voices for good.

A Simple Accident is a film everyone needs to see, and that would still be true even if the film won nothing at Cannes. Hopefully, with some luck, Jafar Panahi will be able to see an Iran that he's proud to call home in his lifetime.