Cannes 2025 Awards: Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or

Winners of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival awards, including the coveted Palme d'Or, were revealed at a glamorous ceremony in Cannes, France this weekend. The awards this year were surprising and unexpected, with many films from across the board picking up prizes from a rather lackluster competition selection. The top prize Palme d'Or went to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his latest film titled It Was Just an Accident (aka Un Simple Accident or A Simple Accident). This is a huge win for Panahi, who escaped from Iran recently after being unjustly imprisoned there for making his films. He originally won the Camera d'Or at Cannes (for a first-time filmmaker) back in 1995 for The White Balloon - this Palme has been a long time coming. The other excellent film everyone loved and was rooting for was Sentimental Value, Norwegian director Joachim Trier's wonderful new feature about an actress reconnecting with his father. This was my Palme pick as the best film of the festival this year, but it only took home Grand Prix. Another favorite Sirat won the Jury Prize (in third place) tied with German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski and her film Sound of Falling. An intriguing mix of […]

May 25, 2025 - 10:40

Cannes 2025 Awards: Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or

Winners of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival awards, including the coveted Palme d'Or, were revealed at a glamorous ceremony in Cannes, France this weekend. The awards this year were surprising and unexpected, with many films from across the board picking up prizes from a rather lackluster competition selection. The top prize Palme d'Or went to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his latest film titled It Was Just an Accident (aka Un Simple Accident or A Simple Accident). This is a huge win for Panahi, who escaped from Iran recently after being unjustly imprisoned there for making his films. He originally won the Camera d'Or at Cannes (for a first-time filmmaker) back in 1995 for The White Balloon - this Palme has been a long time coming. The other excellent film everyone loved and was rooting for was Sentimental Value, Norwegian director Joachim Trier's wonderful new feature about an actress reconnecting with his father. This was my Palme pick as the best film of the festival this year, but it only took home Grand Prix. Another favorite Sirat won the Jury Prize (in third place) tied with German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski and her film Sound of Falling. An intriguing mix of my top films and my least favorites winning prizes - along with many others. // Continue Reading ›