Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d’Or at 78th Cannes Film Festival for Un Simple Accident

The 78th Festival de Cannes wrapped on May 25 with a deeply moving and unmistakably political gesture: awarding the Palme d’Or to Iranian master Jafar Panahi for his urgent and audacious film Un Simple Accident.

It was more than a win — it was vindication. “Let’s arrive at this moment, together, when no one dares to say what we should wear, what we should or shouldn’t do,” said Panahi onstage, receiving the award from Jury President Juliette Binoche — a longtime admirer of his work.

The film—made following Panahi’s release from prison and in defiance of decades of censorship—captures the disorientation and defiance of political resistance. It’s cinema as testimony, confrontation, and memory.

And once again, distributor NEON walked away with the Palme — for the sixth consecutive year.

Grand Prix for Joachim Trier, Double Win for The Secret Agent

The Grand Prix went to Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, a tender, layered father-daughter drama starring Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård. “It’s a film about how we fail, and try again,” said Trier on stage. “Like cinema itself.”

Meanwhile, Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho made history with a rare double win: Best Director and Best Actor for Wagner Moura, both for The Secret Agent, a gripping political thriller set during Brazil’s military dictatorship.

Filho’s absence during the announcement? “I was drinking champagne,” he confessed with a grin.

Rising Stars and Powerful Debuts

Best Actress went to breakout talent Nadia Melliti for Little Sister, Hafsia Herzi’s poignant story of a young Muslim girl navigating sexuality and identity in suburban Paris. The film also claimed the Queer Palm, confirming its emotional impact.

Elsewhere, Iraqi director Hasan Hadi made history as the first from his country to win the Camera d’Or for The President’s Cake. FRED was there as he described it as “a gift to a generation denied the freedom to dream.”

Jury Prize, Screenplay, and a Touch of Music

The Jury Prize was shared between Spain’s Olivier Laxe (Sirat) and Germany’s Mascha Schilinski (Sound of Falling) — both bold, formally inventive films pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling.

The Best Screenplay went to Cannes veterans Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Young Mothers, a sober, empathetic look at teenage parenthood. John C. Reilly, who presented the award, serenaded the room with “La Vie en Rose” in English. Only in Cannes.

Full List of 2025 Cannes Winners

• Palme d’Or: Un Simple Accident – Jafar Panahi

• Grand Prix: Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier

• Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho – The Secret Agent

• Best Actor: Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

• Best Actress: Nadia Melliti – Little Sister

• Jury Prize (Tie): Sirat – Olivier Laxe & Sound of Falling – Mascha Schilinski

• Special Award: Resurrection – Bi Gan

• Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne – Young Mothers

• Camera d’Or: The President’s Cake – Hasan Hadi

• Special Mention: My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr.

• Short Film Palme d’Or: I’m Glad You’re Dead Now – Tawfeek Barhom

• Special Mention: Ali – Adnan Al Rajeev

• Best Documentary: Imago – Déni Oumar Pitsaev

• Special Jury Prize: The Six Billion Dollar Man – Eugene Jarecki

• Queer Palm: Little Sister – Hafsia Herzi

• Palme Dog: Panda – The Love That Remains

• Un Certain Regard Award: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo – Diego Céspedes

• Un Certain Regard Best Director: Tarzan & Arab Nasser – Once Upon a Time in Gaza

• Un Certain Regard Jury Prize: A Poet – Simón Mesa Soto

• Un Certain Regard Performance Awards: Cléo Diara (I Only Rest in the Storm) & Frank Dillane (Urchin)

• Un Certain Regard Best Screenplay: Harry Lighton – Pillion

• Critics’ Week Grand Prize: A Useful Ghost – Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

• Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award: The President’s Cake – Hasan Hadi

Cinema as Resistance, Reflection, and Celebration

Even a regional blackout — which knocked out power across Cannes hours before the closing — couldn’t dim the intensity of this year’s awards night. The Palais kept its lights on. And so did the films.

Juliette Binoche’s jury — including Alba Rohrwacher, Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Payal Kapadia, Hong Sangsoo, Carlos Reygadas, and Dieudo Hamadi — rewarded work that dares to speak out, and stories that cross boundaries, genres, and continents.