78th Cannes Film Festival: Return of Iranian films in World Cinema, It Waz Just N Accident received Palma Door Award

Famous Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s film ‘It Waz Just An Accident’ has once again been possible to return to Iranian films in world cinema after receiving Palma Door Award for Best Film at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Just before this, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival last year, Iran’s film ‘The Seed of the Sacred Feed’ of Iran was shown in the main competition segment and received a special jury prize.

Not only this, the film was sent by Germany for the Oscar Award as an official entry from its country and the film was also a short list. Like Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasuloff has also gone to jail in Iran many times. This time, as soon as his film was selected for the film Kan film festival, he was sentenced to eight years by the Iranian government. He managed to escape from Iran with the film and took refuge in Germany. He announced his migration from the stage at the award ceremony. The film is a political thriller in the backdrop of the recent hijab movement in Iran.

In Jafar Panahi’s film ‘It Waz Just N Accident’, a man named Aghbal crashes to a dog on the road at night. The dog dies. He takes the car to a nearby garage to fix it, which is owned by Waheed. The car mechanic Waheed feels that his face meets the officer who tortured Waheed badly in jail, which ruined his good life. To take revenge on him, he kidnaps him and plans to burn him alive.

He suspects that this is not another man. Waheed calls his fellow prisoners – a book seller Salar and a girl who takes photographs in weddings to confirm the man’s identity. Dulha Ali and his bride also come together with Shiva. A angry laborer Hamid also comes. In Wahid’s van, all these days are roaming on the streets of Tehran in search of a place where they can avenge their insults and harassment from the officer. Many dramatic incidents happen during this period.

For example, the phone of unconscious Aghbal plays in the van. When Wahid picks up the phone, a girl crying from there says that ‘Papa will come home soon, mother will die.’ Now they all go to Aghbal’s house to take his pregnant wife to the hospital where she gives birth to a child. At the behest of a doctor and nurse, Wahid buys a box of sweets and distributes sweets to everyone. After leaving from there, they reach a deserted place outside the city. During this time, all are also continuously arguing on the morality of murder.

Wahid takes Aghbal off the van and binds it to a tree and in turn everyone reminds him how he tortured them and innocent prisoners in jail. The entire film starts with a sense of revenge and finally travels to compassion and forgiveness. Wahid opens Aghal’s tied hand and says that his wife and newborn child are safe. The main road will come from here on fifteen minutes. He can go home.

There are many political comments within this screenplay that tells the condition of today’s Iran. Jafar Panahi’s cinema has its own grammar in which everything happens with great simplicity and easily. They use at least sets and property anyway. But his cinema leaves a very profound impact. Jafar Panahi made a poignant film in 2006 for the forbits of girls’ football matches in Iran – ‘Off Side.’ The film was banned in Iran. Later, after twelve years, in 2018, the Iran government gave girls freedom to watch football matches.

Zafar Panahi dreamed this twelve years before the incident and made a film on it. Apart from Jafar Panahi, Iran’s Abbas Kirostamy and Asghar Farhadi have also got great importance in the Cannes Film Festival. Asghar Farhadi received the Oscar Award twice within five years. For the first time for ‘separation’ (2010) and second time for ‘Salesman’ (2015).

This time at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Iran’s film ‘Mother and Child’ was also shown in the main competition segment. It is a terrible family drama that depicts the emotional relationship between a widowed mother and her only son. A forty -year -old widow nurse is struggling with Aliyar, a fifteen -year -old son of her bad and rebel nature. Aliyar has been expelled from school due to indiscipline.

Suddenly an accident happens and the only son of Mehnaz dies Aliyar. A child dying like this is a heartbreaking scene. On the other hand, her lover Hamid whom she is planning to get married, gets rid of her beautiful sister and also marries. Hamid also runs an ambulance in Mehnaz’s hospital. Her sister is going to be the mother of Hamid’s child. Mehnaz breaks a mountain of sorrows. He gets cheated from all sides. Despite this, she fights for justice for the painful death of her child. After many ups and downs, she eventually sees the Aks of her child Aliyar in her younger sister’s child.