Jafar Panahi, the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker whose work has earned international recognition including an Oscar nomination and the Palme d'Or at Cannes, has been summoned for a retrial in Tehran on charges of “propaganda activity against the regime.” The hearing is set to take place tomorrow before Branch 26 of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court.
Panahi was sentenced in absentia at the end of 2025 to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban by Iran’s Revolutionary Court. The retrial follows an appeal lodged by his legal team. The court has also prohibited the director from joining any political or social groups.
The director returned to Iran at the end of March after attending the 98th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, where his film It Was Just An Accident was nominated for Best International Feature Film. The film, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2025, was shot in secret without official permission from Iranian authorities.
A History of Defiance
Panahi’s troubles with the Iranian authorities date back to 2003. He has been imprisoned twice, most recently spending 86 days in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in 2022 and 2023 on charges related to anti-government activity dating from 2010 and for protesting the imprisonment of fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. He was released only after going on a hunger strike.
While in Evin, Panahi met activist and political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian. The two collaborated on the screenplay for It Was Just An Accident, a thriller inspired by Panahi’s incarceration. Mahmoudian was re-arrested earlier this year on accusations of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
Despite being banned from filmmaking, Panahi has continued to produce work that challenges the regime. His filmography includes This Is Not a Film, No Bears, and Taxi Tehran, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2015. During the US promotional tour for It Was Just An Accident, he won three Gotham Awards: Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best International Feature.
“I would like to dedicate the honour of this award to independent filmmakers in Iran and around the world, filmmakers who keep the camera rolling in silence, without support, and at times by risking everything they have, only with their faith in truth and humanity,” Panahi said at the Gotham ceremony. “I hope that this dedication will be considered a small tribute to all filmmakers who have been deprived of the right to see and to be seen, but continue to create and exist.”
It Was Just An Accident follows a group of formerly imprisoned Iranians who debate whether to take revenge on a man they believe was their jailer and torturer. The film serves as a stark condemnation of the Islamic Republic’s repression and a timeless meditation on the sins of state despotism. In our review, we described it as “a taut, tense and tightly scripted drama that surprises due to its deft tonal shifts” and “a powerfully engrossing work that explores the consequences of torture, the price of revenge and whether mercy is possible.”
Panahi’s case continues to draw international attention, highlighting the ongoing crackdown on artistic expression in Iran. The retrial comes amid broader tensions between Tehran and the West, including EU diplomatic efforts that face their own challenges. For European audiences, Panahi’s plight underscores the importance of defending creative freedom, a value central to the continent’s cultural identity.
