NZIFF 2025 Craccum Coverage | It Was Just An Accident

Review by Madeline Smith

In an interview from 2000, director Jafar Panahi said, “In all my films, you never see an evil character, male or female. I believe everyone is a good person.” I have always wondered if he still stands by this after his arrests and imprisonment for his views and protests against the Iranian authorities. It Was Just An Accident might give us an answer. This is Panahi’s sixth film following the Iranian government’s 20-year ban on his filmmaking, and the first following his 2022 imprisonment. Unlike his other post-ban films, Panahi does not appear on camera, but his persecution undeniably shadows the film just as much as his previous work. Panahi has always been a strong social critic, but It Was Just An Accident shows him truly challenging the humanist ethos at the foundation of his work, if not throwing it away entirely. If he still stands by his statement in 2000, it is one that has been significantly complicated by the realities of violent detainment, and the film is most compelling as a ‘test’ against his own values. While it is enhanced by knowledge of Panahi’s previous work and situation, it will also make for an accessible intro to those unfamiliar. It’s a thriller that clearly had a grip on the audience of over 2000 people at last night’s Civic screening. You could hear uproarious laughter at the film’s dark humour, but the climactic scene (perhaps the best scene Panahi has ever filmed) shocked the audience into silence.