Gotham Awards
Jafar Panahi dedicates Gotham screenplay award to at-risk filmmakers
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Iranian director Jafar Panahi won Best Original Screenplay at the 2025 Gotham Awards for his film It Was Just An Accident, dedicating the honor to independent filmmakers worldwide amid his recent sentencing in Iran. The same day, he received a one-year prison sentence in absentia and a two-year travel ban from a Tehran court. The film also secured Best International Feature at the New York City ceremony.
At the Gotham Awards, actor Joel Edgerton defended streaming films' eligibility for the Oscars, responding to James Cameron's recent comments that Netflix productions without theatrical runs do not belong in the awards conversation. Edgerton, whose film 'Train Dreams' is a Netflix release, argued against industry squabbles over what qualifies as cinema. He emphasized the importance of streamers for emerging filmmakers while respecting Cameron's advocacy for theaters.