Overview

• After a visa delay, Panahi appeared for an hour-plus conversation with Scorsese at the New York Film Festival’s Walter Reade Theater.
• Scorsese called on streamers, festivals, and distributors to back Iranian filmmakers and cited Criterion, Mubi, and Amazon as potential curators.
• Panahi discussed working under a 20-year filmmaking ban imposed in 2010 and said his latest feature was made in secret following his 2023 incarceration.
• He said he intends to keep working in Iran as many peers have left or live in exile, while a new generation is making films clandestinely.
• Neon confirmed U.S. theatrical openings for It Was Just an Accident in New York and Los Angeles on October 15, with a wider release to follow.