Dissident Iranian filmmaker urges Iranians to work for ‘freedom’ as he accepts top prize at Cannes

Dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi urges Iranians to put their differences aside and work for “freedom” as he accepts an award for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.

“I believe this is the moment to call on all people, all Iranians, with all their differing opinions, wherever they are in the world — in Iran or abroad — to allow me to ask for one thing,” Panahi said, according to a translation.

“Let’s set aside all problems, all differences. What matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country.”

His film “It Was Just an Accident” tells the tale of five ordinary Iranians confronted with a man they believed tortured them in jail.

Panahi, who was banned from making films in 2010 and has been imprisoned twice, argues that cinema must be a space for free expression.

“No one has the right to tell you what you should do and what you should not do,” he says, according to remarks in Persian which are translated into French at the ceremony.

He was in Cannes for the first time in 15 years, having seen a travel ban lifted on him in 2023.

“Cannes is a bigger stage and has its own qualities, but what I truly want is to sit in a cinema with ordinary people in Iran and watch this film. That’s the most important thing,” he told AFP this week.