For much of the past two decades, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was barred from filmmaking by his government. But even when he was put under house arrest or in jail, this didn’t stop him from somehow making films and winning top awards at festivals around the world.
When the ban recently expired, he made another clandestine film, again without a permit from the authorities. The result is one of his boldest films to date, It Was Just An Accident, which, on Sunday, went on to win him the greatest accolade of his life: the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Unlike before, he was able to travel to Cannes this time and receive his award in person. He intends to go back to Iran right after.
Panahi is now one of the most decorated filmmakers in the history of world cinema. Alongside the Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni, he is one of the only two directors ever to have won the top four awards at the festivals of Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno.
Expectedly, Panahi used his acceptance speech to touch on politics. He spoke of his dream that one day freedom would reign in Iran so that “no one would tell us what to wear or not, or what movie to make or not.” But he also directly addressed Iranians, pleading with them to “put their differences aside” and "prioritise our country". It was a reminder that Panahi is not just a democracy activist but also a patriot who is worried about the increased cleavages and divisions in his country.
His new film itself tackles these themes courageously. It Was Just an Accident revolves around a simple yet stark question: What happens if former victims of a torturer get to have power over him? In the film, a former political prisoner comes across a former torturer by chance. He kidnaps him and brings along several former political prisoners to adjudicate on his fate. The matter is more complicated given the torturer’s very pregnant wife and 8-year-old daughter, who are obviously affected by his disappearance.
Panahi debates with other former prisoners on what to do with him, thus symbolically showcasing the range of opinions in Iranian society. By shining a light on each position's internal contradictions and ethical problems, Panahi shows that he can be self-critical about his own politics. The darkest character among the former prisoners is Hamid—a hotheaded young man who believes the group doesn’t have the luxury of debating ethics when dealing with the agents of the regime.
Ultimately, Hamid's view loses out to the other group members. Although they know full well the cruelty of the man in their custody, they repeatedly show humanity and choose nonviolence. In this, Panahi delivers a sharp rebuke against extremism. Although the film focuses on Iran, the moral dilemma presented has universal resonance. What would the oppressed do if the script was flipped?
Grand Prix award
The other popular film amongst the festivalgoers was Sentimental Value by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier, which grabbed the Grand Prix, Cannes' second-highest prize. Trier teamed up once again with Renate Reinsve, who had ably led the cast of his last film, Worst Person in the World, a huge hit at Cannes in 2021. The duo was as masterful in the new movie, which, in keeping with Trier’s themes, explores the emotional lives of its characters.
Reinsve plays Nora, an actor at the Norwegian National Theatre who is estranged from her father, Gustav Berg, a well-known filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgard), while having a close relationship with her sister. The father now wants to fix the relationship in the most peculiar way: by asking her to play in a script he has written for her. When she refuses, the role goes to Rachel Kemp, a fictional American star played by Elle Fanning.
Trier’s touch allows the film to be funny at the appropriate moments while deeply touching and meaningful at others. Characters are not one-dimensional and are portrayed with detail and patience. Kemp, for instance, is not there as an out-of-touch A-list actress but as a sympathetic artist with real love for cinema and genuine sympathy for Nora. Reinsve conveys the difficulties she has gone through, sometimes only through her facial expressions. Playing on Trier’s strength in narrating the heady emotional lives of urbanites (often young urbanites), the film was an instant hit at Cannes and is likely to find broad audiences.
The same is not necessarily true of other award-winners at Cannes. With its slow-paced portrayal of several generations of German women, Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling impressed the jury and jointly won the Jury Prize, Cannes’ third top award. But while Schilinksi’s visual strength is what gave her the award, the film is rather disjointed and lacks coherence.
The prize was also given to Sirat by Spanish director Oliver Laxe. Set in Morocco, Sirat features a Spanish father who, alongside his son and dog, has headed to the country hoping to find his daughter, who had gone there for rave parties in the desert. The wild story that follows stunned many at Cannes and made the film an instant favourite for a top award. However, it is unfortunate that the film adds to the long list of films set in North Africa, which barely feature North Africans.
Also suffering from a lack of a strong pace or narrative is Kleber Mendonca Filho’s The Secret Agent (Brazil), which won Best Director and Actor awards for its impressive lead, Wagner Moura. It also won FIPRESCI’s prize for the competition. While the film opens a fascinating window into the life of northeastern Brazil in the 1970s, it meanders around too much and doesn’t let any of its characters come to life.
For its part, Resurrection, by Chinese director Bi Gan, doesn’t even pretend to follow a conventional narrative. But the film was so well-liked by Binochet and the Jury that they created a “special prize” to recognise the work. Trying to make sense of Resurrection is a futile pursuit. But with time, viewers could connect with parts of the film, whether the conversation about Buddhism between a disciple and a master or a simple chat between two teenagers about their first kisses, Bi Gan is able to capture the audience in uncanny ways.
The two other major award winners at Cannes’ main section belong to the category of socially critical films. The best actress went to Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister, a lesbian coming-of-age story in Paris. Despite being Melliti's first role, she nailed it through her successful portrayal of a young woman who is unsure about her own identity and is making it up as she goes along in life.
The best screenplay award went to the leftist filmmaker duo, the Dardenne brothers, for their filmYoung Mothers, which follows the lives of single mothers in a shelter in Liege. The story focuses on class issues, not gender or racial issues, as has become popular in the industry. Dardennes also avoids portraying poor families in a voyeuristic and lamentable way. Instead, while often struggling to get by in life, his characters are occasionally given the chance to experience high culture.
'Tell them to stop the genocide'
Middle Easterners also did well in other categories. Palestinian brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser won the Best Director award at the Un Certain Regard section for their Once Upon a Time in Gaza.
"To every Palestinian, your life matters, your voice matters. Soon, Palestine will be free, Insha'Allah," Tarzan Nasser said in front of the audience when accepting the award. Meanwhile, his brother, Arab, recalled a conversation with their mother in the north of Gaza and how they hesitated to return to Cannes in the midst of the ongoing war. "She said, 'No, no, no, you have to go. You have to talk to them. Tell them to stop the genocide. We cannot carry on anymore," he said.
Tawfeek Barhom, another Palestinian, won the short film Palme d'Or for his I’m Glad You’re Dead Now. Meanwhile, the Camera d’Or, awarded for the best film by a debut director, went to the Iraqi film The President’s Cake by Hasan Hadi, which narrates the story of a nine-year-old girl who has to make a cake to celebrate Saddam’s birthday or risk punishment.
The recognition of Iranian and Arab directors and actors bodes well for the future of cinema in the Middle East.
