CANNES, France — Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest drama, “An Ordinary Accident,” has secured the prestigious title of best feature film during the 78th Cannes Film Festival. The announcement was made at the event’s closing ceremony, which aired on France 2.
This achievement marks another significant milestone in Panahi’s remarkable career at Cannes. He previously garnered the “Golden Camera” for his debut film, “White Ball,” in 1995. His film “Three Faces” won best screenplay in 2018, and in 2022, he received a special jury prize for “Without Bears.”
The Grand Prix, the festival’s second most distinguished honor, was awarded to Norwegian director Joachim Trier for his comedy-drama “Sentimental Value.” Meanwhile, the Jury Prize, the third most significant accolade, was shared between Franco-Spanish director Olivier Lachet’s “Sirat” and German director Masha Schilinski’s “The Sound of Falling.”
Best actor honors went to Wagner Moura for his performance in the Brazilian film “Secret Agent,” while Nadia Meliti received the best actress award for her role in Afsia Erzi’s “The Younger Last.” Kleber Mendonça Filho, also from Brazil, was celebrated as best director for “Secret Agent.” The brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne earned accolades for best screenplay with “Young Mothers.”
Taufik Barhom’s “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now” took home the award for best short film, and Hassan Hadi was acknowledged for best directorial debut with “The President’s Cake.” The Special Jury Prize went to Chinese director Bi Gan’s film “Resurrection.”
The festival recognized the contributions of two iconic actors with honorary “Palme d’Or” awards. American actor Robert De Niro, whose career spans over 110 films since the 1960s, and Denzel Washington, known for his extensive filmography of more than 50 films, were both honored.
This year’s festival, held at the Palais des Festivals and Congresses from May 13 to 24, faced unexpected challenges. A significant power outage disrupted events on the final day, affecting several municipalities in the Alpes-Maritimes region. While the Palais was able to quickly restore power using mobile generators, nearby cinemas struggled to resume screenings, ultimately impacting the festival’s out-of-competition programming. Authorities are now investigating the cause of the outage, which is suspected to be linked to malicious acts and arson at an electrical substation.
Despite these incidents, the festival drew attention to nearly 3,000 submitted films, with about two dozen selected for the main competition. Juliette Binoche, the renowned French actress, chaired this year’s jury.
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