MNFF invites audiences to experience the richness and nuance of contemporary Iranian cinema. The evening includes Irani Bag, a poetic short film that captures everyday moments with striking visual intimacy, followed by the feature It Was Just an Accident, a gripping story of chance, consequence, and connection. Together, these films offer a window into the beauty, humour, and complexity of modern Persian storytelling.
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
(یک تصادف ساده)
Jafar Panahi | Iran | 2025 | 92m
When a traveller with a distinctively squeaky prosthetic leg arrives at his auto-repair shop one night, Vahid is convinced that it’s the officer who tortured him in prison years ago.
Although he was always blindfolded when it happened, he’d recognise the sound of that leg anywhere – and so, seizing the opportunity for revenge, Vahid abducts the man and transports him to the desert, intending to bury him alive. But before he can do the deed, Vahid’s conscience halts him: what if he’s kidnapped the wrong person? Over a frenzied 24 hours, he sets out to find other former prisoners who can verify the man’s identity, amassing an unlikely group of co-conspirators along the way, each of whom carries their own motivation for vengeance.
Jafar Panahi is a renowned Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor known for his humanistic and critical depictions of Iranian society. A leading figure of the Iranian New Wave, his career is defined by international acclaim and persistent conflict with government, which has banned, arrested, and imprisoned him for his work. Despite severe restrictions, he has continued making films that address sociopolitical issues in Iran.
IRANI BAG
Maryam Tafakory | Iran | 2020 | 8m
Using excerpts of films produced between 1990 and 2018, Irani Bag is a split-screen video essay questioning the innocence of bags in post-revolution Iranian cinema.
Collating scenes of mediated intimacy in Iranian cinema, Maryam Tafakory's 'Irani Bag' is a quietly moving instruction on 'how to touch without touching [Essay Film Festival London]
Maryam Tafakory [b. Iran] works with film and performance. Solo screenings of her work include MoMA, BOZAR, NGA, Washington DC, and Academy Museum, among others. Selected group events include Tate Modern, Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, New York Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival. She was awarded the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago Int’l Film Festival, Tiger Short Award at the 51st IFFR, and Best Experimental Film at the 70th and 71st MIFF. She was the 2024 winner of the Film London Jarman Award.