Jafar Panahi wins Palme d’Or at Cannes; Heo Ga-young’s ‘First Summer’ grabs Best Short Film

As the 2025 Cannes Film Festival came to a close, the honor of the Palme d’Or was awarded to the new work of Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi.

At the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival held on the 24th (local time) in the southern French resort city of Cannes, Panahi’s ‘It Was Just An Accident’ won the prestigious Palme d’Or.

The film depicts a man who was previously imprisoned as a political prisoner facing someone who resembles the police officer who tormented him. It is a fiction based on reality and proves how art survives in an oppressed society. Indeed, Panahi was banned from filmmaking and traveling abroad in 2010, but has secretly filmed works and consistently submitted them to international film festivals. In 2023, he was released on bail after a hunger strike, and this film is his first feature released since then.

Immediately after receiving the award, Panahi said, “The most important thing right now is the freedom of our country,” adding, “No one can command us on what to wear, what to do, and what not to do.” He was met with a standing ovation. He further remarked, “This award is not just mine; it is for all Iranian directors who cannot make films right now.”

With this award, Panahi became the fifth director to claim the top awards from the three major film festivals: the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival (2000, The Circle), and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival (2015, Taxi).

The Jury Prize went to Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a delicately drawn depiction of a family’s process of reunification. The Jury Award was jointly awarded to Shirat, which deals with a father searching for his missing daughter, and Sound of Falling, which depicts generational conflict.

The Best Director award went to Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent, which delved into Brazil’s political reality, while the Best Actor award went to Wagner Moura for the same film. French newcomer Nadia Meliti became the Best Actress for The Little Sister. The screenplay award went to The Young Mother’s Home by the Dardennes brothers.

Although Korean feature films failed to advance in the competitive sector, there was a significant achievement in the short film category. The first summer by director Heo Ga-young, an alumnus of the Korean Academy of Film Arts, received the top prize in the La Cineph category. This is the first time a Korean work has won the best award in this sector.

[OSEN]