Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s clandestinely filmed It Was Just an Accident was shortlisted on Monday for four major Golden Globe awards, even as he faces a new prison sentence in Iran after being convicted in absentia by a Revolutionary Court.
After winning the prestigious Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Panahi’s film has now been nominated for Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Non-English Language Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes 2026.
Panahi’s film will compete in the Best Motion Picture (Drama) category alongside Frankenstein, Hamnet, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Sinners.
In the Best Director category, he is nominated alongside Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value and Chloé Zhao for Hamnet.
Shot secretly in Tehran, the film has already been selected by France as its official submission to the 2026 Oscars and will also represent France at the Golden Globes.
Last week, Iranian lawyer Mostafa Nili announced that Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Panahi in absentia to one year in prison.
The verdict cited “propaganda against the state” and imposed a two-year travel ban and a ban on political or social group membership.
Panahi, a long-time critic of the Islamic Republic, said he plans to return to Iran despite the new ruling. The filmmaker has previously been detained and restricted from travel but continued to make movies that later received major awards at Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
The production was carried out under tight constraints inside the capital, continuing Panahi’s long pattern of making films despite restrictions, surveillance and repeated bans on his professional activity.
It Was Just an Accident follows Panahi’s established cinematic approach—minimalist storytelling, non-professional actors and a blend of documentary and fiction.
His earlier works, including Taxi and No Bears, were also created while he was banned from filmmaking and travel, drawing international support for his case.
