By following his acquisition spree at the Cannes Film Festival, Mubi acquired «IT was an accident» by Jafar Panahi for multiple international territories.
The streamer, distributor and independent producer in expansion has taken the last film of the venerated Iranian author for Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Turkey and India.
The agreement was negotiated between the MUBA and MK2 films, which handle international sales.
The premiere of the film in competition in Cannes marked the great return of the Iranian author to the festival after being released from prison and seven years after «Three Faces.» He was received with a long data ovation.
After the roaring applause decreased, Panahi delivered an emotional speech in which he paid tribute to the filmmakers who are currently imprisoned in Iran, saying that he felt a guilt when he was released from the prison. «I turned around and I saw a very high wall. And behind this wall, all these other loved ones, all these people remained behind this wall,» he said. «So I wondered how I could be happy, how I could feel free, if they were still inside.»
«It was just an accident» focuses on a large number of strong feelings on the part of a group of former prisoners towards a tortuous guard.
«When you spend eight hours a day with bandaged eyes, sitting in front of a wall, being questioned by someone standing on your back every day, you can’t stop asking what kind of conversation you can have with this man,» Panahi said to Variety In one of his first interviews after his 14 years of making films, talking to the press and traveling.
«Arrested several times by the so -called propaganda and locked twice (released only after hunger hunger), Panahi cannot avoid making art, emerging and ready to defend himself» Variety The critic Peter Debuge pointed out in his positive review.
Panahi is considered one of the best living film teachers in his country.
In 2010, the author, known worldwide for winning works as «The Circle», «Offside», «This is not a movie», «Taxi» and more recently «No Bears», he was forbidden to make films, talk to the press and travel, although he substitiously continued to do them anyway. The ban was built in April 2023, and now the Iranian authorities allowed him to travel to Cannes to launch «it was just an accident.»
(Tagstotranslate) Cannes Film Festival (T) Jafar Panahi