Overview
- An Iranian court sentenced Panahi in absentia to one year in prison on propaganda-related charges, with a two-year travel ban and restrictions on political and social group membership, according to his attorney.
- The ruling was announced while Panahi was in New York at the Gotham Awards, where It Was Just an Accident won three honors including best director.
- Speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival, Panahi said he will complete the film’s awards push and then go back to Iran, as his legal team prepares an appeal.
- The film was shot covertly in Tehran and draws on Panahi’s experiences of imprisonment and accounts from fellow detainees, exploring questions of justice without revealing key plot turns.
- It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is France’s submission for the international Oscar, and has distribution from Neon in the U.S. and MUBI in the U.K.