Neon has taken North American rights on revered Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s Cannes competitors title “It Was Simply an Accident,” which marks Panahi’s first movie since being launched from jail in Iran.
The movie, starring Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, and Vahid Mobasser, was greeted with an extended standing ovation and is a Cannes standout title.
“It Was Simply an Accident” facilities round an outpouring of sturdy emotions by a bunch of former prisoners towards a torturous guard.
“While you spend eight hours a day blindfolded, seated in entrance of a wall, being interrogated by somebody standing behind your again daily, you’ll be able to’t cease questioning what sort of dialog you’ll be able to have with this man,” Panahi instructed Selection in certainly one of his first interviews following his 14-year ban on making motion pictures, chatting with the press and touring.
The movie is produced by Jafar Panahi and Philippe Martin and co-produced by Sandrine Dumas and Christel Henon, with David Thion and Lilina Eche serving as affiliate producers. The movie is a Les Movies Pelléas and Jafar Panahi Manufacturing from Iran/France and Luxembourg. MK2 Movies is representing worldwide gross sales rights.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s Sarah Colvin and Jeff Deutchman with MK2 Movies’ Fionnuala Jamison on behalf of the filmmakers.
“It Was Simply An Accident” marks the second collaboration between Neon and Jafar Panahi, following “The Yr of the Eternal Storm” which performed in Cannes Particular Screenings in 2021.
Panahi is is taken into account certainly one of his nation’s biggest residing movie masters.
In 2010, the auteur — identified globally for prizewinning works similar to “The Circle,” “Offside,” “That is Not a Movie,” “Taxi” and most lately “No Bears” — was banned from making motion pictures, chatting with the press and touring, although he surreptitiously saved making them anyway. The ban was lifted in April 2023, and now Iranian authorities allowed him to journey to Cannes to launch “It Was Simply an Accident.”
