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.
Award Wins and Dedication
At the 35th annual Gotham Awards held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on December 1, 2025, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident claimed two major honors: Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature. The film, which earned the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, received three nominations in total, including Best Director for Panahi. Accepting the screenplay award through an interpreter, Panahi stated, “This award belongs to all people who worked for me on this film. I’d like to dedicate this award to independent filmmakers around the world… I hope that this dedication will be considered a small tribute to all filmmakers who have been deprived of the right to see and to be seen but continue to create and to exist.”
Context of Sentencing
The wins came hours after the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Panahi in absentia to one year in prison, a two-year travel ban, and prohibition from political or social group memberships, citing “propaganda activities against the system.” His lawyer, Mustafa Nili, announced the verdict on X. Panahi did not directly address the ruling but highlighted filmmakers “who keep the camera rolling in silence, without support, and at times, by risking everything they have, only with their faith in truth and humanity.”
Film Background
It Was Just An Accident follows a mechanic who suspects a man of being a former prison guard and gathers ex-prisoners to confront him during a drive through Tehran. Produced by Neon, the film is France's submission for the 2026 Oscars International Feature category and had a U.S. theatrical release in October 2025. Panahi, who has faced two prior imprisonments and a 20-year directing ban, shot the movie in secret. He is currently on a U.S. tour promoting the film in cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and New York. Neon plans to release a documentary short on his travels in early 2026.
Panahi's History
Panahi has long spoken on the challenges for Iranian filmmakers. At the New York Film Festival in fall 2025, alongside Martin Scorsese, he said, “It was really difficult to bear… All the backbones of Iranian filmmaking are out. I really miss all those films that they could have made in Iran and they never did.” He added, “I don’t have the courage and I don’t have the ability to leave Iran and stay out of Iran. I have stayed there and I’m going to work there.”
