Proudly presented as part of our extended Persian Film Fest at FOMO Secret Cinema.
Jafar Panahi | 2025 | Iran/France | 1h43m | Original Persian with English subtitles
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT has scooped just about every award on the film circuit so far, including the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. This is not a film any serious film lover should miss.
The story begins with an ordinary encounter and gradually transforms it into a moral pressure chamber. Jafar Panahi once again uses simplicity as a weapon, stripping cinema down to conversation, observation, and ethical consequence.
The film follows a man who is convinced he has unexpectedly encountered his torturer from his previous imprisonment. Panahi builds tension not through action, but through decision. Each character is forced to decide whether to speak, remain silent, or protect themselves at the expense of others. The tension comes not from dramatic action, but from hesitation, implication, and the knowledge that even small choices can carry serious risk.
The film belongs to the third wave of the Persian New Wave, where filmmakers confront the effects of life under the Islamic Republic more directly, often at great personal cost. Panahi made the film while under severe restrictions, continuing a long tradition of working despite bans, multiple arrests, and surveillance. The story reflects a society shaped by uncertainty, where trust has eroded and fear quietly regulates everyday interaction.
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT shows how authoritarian systems do not rely solely on force, but on doubt, self censorship, and the constant pressure to anticipate punishment. For viewers following the current movement in Iran, the film offers a precise portrait of how control operates long before the violence we're seeing now erupted to the surface. It exposes how systems of oppression push individuals toward impossible choices, then holds them responsible for the consequences.
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left behind the jewellery stand. One flight up. Video instructions here
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
