Neon has acquired the North American rights to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident, which premiered In competition at Cannes on Tuesday.
The film marks Panahi’s first since being released from prison in Iran, and was inspired in part by his second incarceration in that country. Neon, which also released Panahi’s The Year of the Everlasting Storm, plans a North American theatrical release for his latest work in 2025.
It Was Just An Accident stars Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, and Vahid Mobasser, and focuses on a minor accident that sets in motion a series of escalating consequences that in turn illustrate the traumas suffered by political dissidents and other opponents of power.
The Golden Bear and Golden Lion winner this year brought to Cannes his first movie not to have been shot illegally since 2006 after his decades-long filmmaking and travel ban was finally lifted by the Iranian authorities, A Cannes veteran, Panahi’s career began with his first feature, The White Balloon, earning the Caméra d’Or.
Other notable credits include Crimson Gold, which won the Prix du Jury in 2003 in Cannes, and No Bears, which was awarded the Venice Film Festival’s 2022 Special Jury Prize. It Was Just An Accident is produced by Panahi and Philippe Martin and co-produced by Sandrine Dumas and Christel Henon, with David Thion and Lilina Eche serving as associate producers.
Earlier, Neon acquired the North American rights to the political thriller The Secret Agent from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho. Neon also picked up the rights for North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand for Fjord, the English-language debut of Palme d’Or-winning Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
Neon also just completed a stellar awards season for the company, capped by Sean Baker’s Anora winning last year’s Palme d’Or followed by five Oscars, including best picture.
It Was Just An Accident is a Les Films Pelléas and Jafar Panahi Production from Iran, France and Luxembourg. MK2 Films is representing the international sales rights to the film.
The distribution deal was negotiated by Neon’s Sarah Colvin and Jeff Deutchman, with MK2 Films’ Fionnuala Jamison working for the filmmakers.