Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident Takes Home the Palme d'Or; Check Out the Complete List of Cannes 2025 Winners.

      The jury led by Juliette Binoche at Cannes has announced this year's winners, with Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident receiving the Palme d’Or, marking NEON’s sixth consecutive victory. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value was awarded the Grand Prize, while Oliver Laxe’s Sirat and Mascha Schilinski’s The Sound of Falling both received the Jury Prize. Additionally, The Secret Agent achieved a rare double win, securing Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura.

      According to Ryan Swen, “Jafar Panahi is the fourth director—following Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Robert Altman—to win the three major film festival awards: the Cannes Palme d’Or, the Berlin Golden Bear, and the Venice Golden Lion, as well as being the first Camera d’Or winner to take home the Palme.”

      Leonardo Goi commented in his review of It Was Just an Accident, “If you were given the chance to confront the person who ruined your life and the lives of many others—a psychopath who tortures, rapes, and murders under a tyrannical regime—what would you do? Would you seek revenge or attempt the unthinkable—grant forgiveness and set him free? It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi’s first film since his release from an Iranian prison, centers around this painful dilemma. While the plot is straightforward, the emotional impact is profoundly complex. In a twist of fate, a group of four Iranians, who were imprisoned for protesting the regime, manage to abduct the guard responsible for the horrendous abuses they endured. After rendering him unconscious, they confine him in a van and contemplate their next move. This journey unfolds over less than a day. By its conclusion, Accident conveys a sense of pressure-filled content. Panahi melds incisive social commentary with an exceptional command of cinematic technique: a powerful cry for justice, it is also a thrilling film. It stands as a significant achievement.”

      Refer to the complete list of winners below and check out all our coverage here.

      Palme d'Or: It Was Just an Accident, dir: Jafar Panahi

      Grand Prize: Sentimental Value, dir: Joachim Trier

      Best Actress: Nadia Melliti, La Petite Dernière

      Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent

      Jury Prize – tie: Sirat, dir: Oliver Laxe; The Sound of Falling, dir: Mascha Schilinski

      Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Young Mothers

      Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

      Special Prize: Resurrection, dir: Bi Gan

      Camera d'Or: The President’s Cake, dir: Hassan Hadi

      Special Mention, Camera d'Or: My Father’s Shadow, dir: Akinola Davies Jr

      Short Film Palme d’Or: I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, dir: Tawfeek Barhom

      Special Mention, Short Film: Ali, dir: Adnan Al Rajeev