Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, whose film It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, faces a reported prison sentence of five years and one month from an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Iran.

Panahi was outside Iran promoting the film when the court issued its latest ruling. The movie won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival and earned an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film while representing France.

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Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, reportedly said authorities froze the filmmaker’s bank accounts last week.

According to the report, Nili and Panahi visited the Enforcement of Judgments unit at the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office. There, they learned that the court had issued a new ruling against Panahi in his absence. The lawyer also said they had received no prior legal notice.

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The latest ruling adds to Panahi’s long history of legal disputes with Iranian authorities.

Panahi’s Previous Prison Sentence

In 2020, an Iranian court sentenced Panahi to six years in prison and imposed a 20-year ban on filmmaking, screenwriting and travelling abroad.

Authorities arrested him in July 2022 to enforce that sentence and sent him to Evin Prison. He spent seven months in custody before his release in February 2023.

In December 2025, Panahi received another one-year prison sentence over charges of “propaganda activity against the system,” according to the supplied report. Iran’s Revolutionary Court later upheld that ruling after an appeal.

Despite these legal battles, Panahi has continued making films and earning international recognition.

Jafar Panahi’s International Film Awards

Panahi has built an international reputation through films that have earned major festival honours.

His 1995 film The White Balloon won the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2000, The Circle earned the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

His film Taxi won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015.

Panahi’s latest film, It Was Just an Accident, has further raised his international profile. Its Palme d’Or victory and Oscar nomination have brought renewed attention to his work and his ongoing legal challenges in Iran.