Iranian director Jafar Panahi, winner of this year’s Palme d’Or, will be tried in Iran on January 4, 2026, at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.
According to a report by independent journalist Mansour Jahani, attorney Mostafa Nili wrote on X that Panahi is being tried for “propaganda activities against the regime,” no doubt due to the political nature of “It Was Just An Accident.”
Back in December, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a two-year ban on leaving the country, as well as a ban on membership in political and social groups or factions, for propaganda activities against the regime.
Panahi, who is currently awards-campaigning his film in the U.S., recently confirmed that he would not seek asylum in any country and instead plans to return to Tehran to serve his jail sentence after Oscar season concludes. Anyone else might avoid returning to Iran like the plague, but Panahi has chosen to meet his fate in his home country.
Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident” is widely predicted to receive several Oscar nominations next year, including Best Picture and Best Director, and at this point will likely win Best International Feature.
Can you imagine a scenario in which Panahi wins an Oscar only to return to Iran — not to a hero’s welcome, but to immediate incarceration? That is precisely what is expected to happen.
“It Was Just An Accident” was shot secretly last year without an official permit in Iran. During production, some crew members were reportedly detained or questioned. According to a recent account, after just one day of filming, several team members were arrested. Given the circumstances, making the film was an undeniably courageous act — and one that clearly came with a steep price.
Back in January, at the Sundance Film Festival, a bidding war emerged over Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite.” A24, Netflix, Searchlight, Focus Features, and NEON among the studios in the mix.