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Palme d'Or winner calls for end of regime in Tehran
2025-06-19 14:56:29 / BOTA
After winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his stunning work "It Was Just An Accident," one of Iran's most renowned directors, Jafar Panahi, called for the overthrow of the Tehran regime, against the backdrop of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Panahi posted a powerful message on Instagram that appears to call for the overthrow of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In his impassioned appeal, he addressed the United Nations and the international community, urging:
"They must immediately and decisively force both regimes to stop military attacks and the killing of civilians."
The director, who is currently in an unknown location, further emphasized:
"The only way to escape is the immediate dissolution of this system and the establishment of a popular, democratic and accountable government to the citizens."
He strongly condemned the Israeli aggression, saying that Israel has violated Iran's integrity and should be tried as a war aggressor before an international court.
"This stance does not mean we should ignore four decades of mismanagement, corruption, oppression, tyranny and incompetence on the part of the Islamic Republic," Panahi added.
"This government has neither the power, nor the will, nor the legitimacy necessary to run the country or manage crises. Staying in this regime means continued decline and continued repression."
The dissident director and the challenges he faced
Jafar Panahi, 64, has been imprisoned twice in Iran and banned from making films due to his anti-regime stance and accusations of "propaganda against the state."
He spent seven months in prison during 2022 and 2023 due to protests against the imprisonment of his friend and fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.
However, Panahi has continued to create films against oppressive authorities and is known for works such as "This Is Not a Film," "No Bears" and "Taxi Tehran," which won the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival.
After winning the Palme d'Or on May 24, Panahi returned to Iran, despite threats against him. At the airport, he was greeted by supporters who chanted the slogan "Woman, life, freedom" - a phrase that became a symbol of mass protests in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022.
The latest success and the movie "It Was Just An Accident"
Panahi then traveled to Australia, where he won the top prize at the Sydney Film Festival for the film "It Was Just An Accident."
This film, inspired by his own experience in an Iranian prison, tells the story of a group of former political prisoners who kidnap the man they believe was their former torturer.
In our review of the film, we write:
“Panahi signs a tense, chilling and extremely captivating thriller that also serves as an indictment of the Islamic Republic and exposes the sins of state despotism. (…) Not only is it a thoroughly deserved Palme d’Or, but the final scene will leave you speechless.”
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