NEON Sets October Release for Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or Winner ‘It Was Just an Accident’
NEON announced today that they will release Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident in theaters on October 15. The film, which premiered In Competition at Cannes to rave reviews, was awarded the festival’s coveted Palme d’Or, marking NEON’s sixth consecutive win. The film recently received the prestigious Sydney Film Prize at the 72nd Sydney Film Festival.
Inspired by Panahi’s second Iranian incarceration, It Was Just An Accident follows what begins as a minor accident as it sets in motion a series of escalating consequences. The film was produced by Jafar Panahi and Philippe Martin and co-produced by Sandrine Dumas and Christel Henon, with David Thion and Lilina Eche serving as associate producers. The film is a Les Films Pelléas and Jafar Panahi Production from Iran/France and Luxembourg. mk2 Films represents the international rights to the film.
With the film’s recent Palme d’Or win at Cannes, Panahi has now completed the European festival triple crown, having won the top prize at all three major European film festivals – Venice, Berlin, and Cannes – over the course of his career. He previously received the Golden Lion in Venice for The Circle and Berlin’s Golden Bear for Taxi, becoming only the fourth director to ever achieve this distinction.
It Was Just An Accident marks the second collaboration between NEON and Jafar Panahi, following The Year of the Everlasting Storm which played in Cannes Special Screenings in 2021. The film underscores NEON’s commitment to bringing international cinema to North American audiences, and collaboration with auteurs who bring singular, original voices to their craft. In Cannes last year, NEON picked up The Seed of the Sacred Fig from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, which went on to be nominated for a BAFTA and for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
NEON acquired the North American rights to the film after its screening in Cannes and is planning an awards push in categories including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Feature Film.
In Cannes this year, in addition to winning its sixth consecutive Palme d’Or for It Was Just an Accident, NEON also debuted Joachim Trier’s Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5, and Michael Angelo Covino’s Splitsvillestarring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona which NEON also produced. NEON also acquired North American rights to Sirât from Oliver Laxe; The Secret Agent from acclaimed writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho; and Ugo Bienvenu’s animated feature Arco with Natalie Portman, which recently won the top Cristal Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
NEON’s last major player, 2024’s Sean Baker’s Anora starring Mikey Madison, took home five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and its theatrical release opened to the highest per-screen average of 2024.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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