Jafar Panahi wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for "A Simple Accident"

No, before A Simple Accident, the Franco-Iranian film The Taste of Cherry , directed by Abbas Kiarostami, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1997 (tied with The Eel , by Shohei Imamura).

Tawfeek Barhom's I'm Glad You're Dead Now won the Palme d'Or for short film.

The production tells the story of two brothers who return to the island they came from, "where buried secrets and heavy tensions force them to confront a dark past that binds them," according to the synopsis .

Its director is Palestinian, and he has previously starred in films such as The Cairo Conspiracy (2022) and Ghosts (2024). I'm Glad You're Dead Now is his first short film.

The closing ceremony was indeed relatively short, after a two-week festival. Some awards had been presented before the final ceremony on Saturday.

For example, the Un Certain Regard prize, dedicated to discoveries, was awarded on Friday to The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo , the first feature film by Chilean Diego Céspedes, which tells the story of how a group of transgender women survive in an isolated village in the Chilean desert, where a mysterious disease is spreading.

Two honorary palms were also awarded during the fortnight to American actors Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington.

The 64-year-old Iranian filmmaker, who won the Palme d'Or on Saturday, was able to attend Cannes for the first time in fifteen years.

After thanking his family and his teams, Jafar Panahi addressed "all Iranians, with different opinions, in Iran and around the world ," asking them to "put all problems aside." "The most important thing is our country and the freedom of our country. Let us reach that moment, together, where no one dares to say what we should wear, what we should or should not do."

A regular at the Croisette, the Iranian director received the Caméra d'Or there for his first feature film, The White Balloon (1995) , before winning the Golden Lion at Venice with The Circle (2000) .

Since his conviction in December 2010 to six years in prison for propaganda against the regime, a year after the contested re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (in June 2009), he has continued to circumvent the ban imposed on him (among other things) on making films for twenty years.

This is the second award given to the film by the Brazilian director and screenwriter.

Two films were awarded the Jury Prize this year.

In 2024, it was the film Emilia Perez , by Jacques Audiard, which received this award.

This award recognizes a director's debut film. It is the first time that an Iraqi film has been in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.