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Iranian film, It was Just an Accident, wins Palme D’Or at Cannes festival

Iranian film, It was Just an Accident, wins Palme D’Or at Cannes festival

The film is inspired by dissident director Jafar Panahi’s own experience in jail. An Iranian thriller film that explores corruption and state violence in the country has won the the Palme d’Or, the coveted top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It Was Just an Accident, directed by dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, was crowned at the world-famous festival on Saturday, hours after a power outage briefly threw the event off course. The festival’s crowd burst into a roaring standing ovation for Panahi, who has endured years of travel bans and prison terms in Iran due to his provocative cinema, often produced in secret. He had been banned from leaving Iran for more than 15 years. “Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life,” said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing the award. On stage, Panahi said what mattered most was the future of his country. “Let us join forces,” Panahi said. “No one should tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, or what we should or shouldn’t do.” Director Jafar Panahi, Palme d’Or award winner, shakes hands with director Hasan Hadi, Camera d’Or award winner for the film, The President’s Cake, on stage during the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 24 [Benoit Tessier/Reuters] Partly inspired by Panahi’s own experience in jail, It Was Just An Accident follows a man named Vahid (played by Vahid Mobasseri), who kidnaps a man with a false leg who looks just like the one who tortured him in prison and ruined his life. Advertisement Vahid sets out to verify with other prison survivors that it is indeed their torturer, and then decide what to do with him. Critics have praised the film as a clever, symbolic exploration of justice that blends dark humour with its intense themes. Iraqi film “The President’s Cake” wins Best First Film The festival’s Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Trier’s Norwegian family drama, Sentimental Value, his lauded follow-up to The Worst Person in the World. Kleber Mendonca Filho’s Brazilian political thriller, The Secret Agent, won two big awards: best director for Fihlo and best actor for Wagner Moura. The jury prize was split between two films: Oliver Laxe’s desert road trip, Sirat and Mascha Schilinski’s German, generation-spanning drama, Sound of Falling.” Best actress went to Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister, Hafsia Herzi’s French coming-of-age drama. Cannes also honoured Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake with a best first film award, marking the first time an Iraqi film has won an award at the festival. Director Hasan Hadi, Camera d’Or award winner for the film, The President’s Cake, and Alice Rohrwacher, president of the Camera d’Or Jury, pose after the closing ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 24 [Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters] The Cannes closing ceremony took place after a major power outage struck southeastern France on Saturday, knocking out traffic lights and forcing businesses to close along the main shopping street in the Alpes-Maritimes holiday region. Police suspect arson as the cause. Advertisement Geopolitical tensions were also a constant backdrop at the festival, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza and US President Donald Trump’s proposal of tariffs on foreign-made films fuelling discussion. More than 900 actors and filmmakers signed an open letter denouncing the genocide in Gaza, according to the organisers. Adblock test (Why?)

Rubio warns court order blocking deportations to South Sudan causes ‘irreparable harm’ to foreign policy

Rubio warns court order blocking deportations to South Sudan causes ‘irreparable harm’ to foreign policy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that a federal court order requiring the U.S. government to maintain custody of deportees on a flight meant for South Sudan will cause “significant and irreparable harm to U.S. foreign policy.”  The Trump administration late Friday filed two court documents after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts said the deportation flight violated his previous April injunction that allows deportees time to challenge an order to be sent to a country other than their own.  “This Department of Justice believes that this situation urgently requires judicial intervention to restore President Trump’s full Article II authority to conduct foreign policy,” a U.S. Department of Justice official told Fox News Digital. Rubio noted the order has already complicated U.S. diplomacy with Libya, South Sudan and Djibouti and presents a serious threat to the president’s Article II authority to conduct foreign policy.  FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO TRACK DEPORTED IMMIGRANTS TO SOUTH SUDAN Rubio said in his filing that the court’s orders had “already interfered with quiet diplomatic efforts and exacerbated internal political and security divisions” in Libya.  The order also threatens to “derail efforts to quietly rebuild a productive working relationship with Juba,” the capital of South Sudan, he said.  Rubio said before the court’s intervention that the South Sudan government had refused to accept a South Sudanese national but had since “taken steps to work more cooperatively with the U.S. government.”  DHS EXPOSES CRIMES BY MIGRANTS DEPORTED TO SOUTH SUDAN AS JUDGE THREATENS TO ORDER THEIR RETURN Thirdly, Rubio said the order “causes harm” in Djibouti, which is “strategically located in the Horn of Africa” with the only U.S. military base on the African continent.  The deportees are being temporarily held at a U.S. Naval base in Djibouti.  In the second filing, the administration asked the court to “reconsider” its order and “highly burdensome requirements.” “Because of this Court’s Orders, [the U.S. government is] currently detaining dangerous criminals in a sensitive location without clear knowledge of when, how, or where this Court will tolerate their release,” the filing said. JUDICIAL HALT OF DEPORTATION FLIGHTS PUTS US FOREIGN POLICY AT RISK, CAREER STATE DEPT OFFICIAL CLAIMS “This development has put impermissible, burdensome constraints on the President’s ability to carry out his Article II powers, including his powers to command the military, manage relations with foreign nations, and execute our nation’s immigration authorities.”  The deportees “enjoyed the benefit of full process under the laws of the United States and were lawfully removed from the country,” the filing claimed, calling for a stay if not a reconsideration of the order.  “These criminal aliens needed only state that they had a fear of removal to South Sudan to receive the other procedures required by the Court’s April 18, 2025 injunction,” the administration wrote. “The aliens did not do so. Therefore, DHS attempted to remove these aliens — who have committed the most reprehensible violations of our nation’s laws — to a place where they no longer pose a threat to the United States.”  The flight left from Texas earlier this week with eight migrants from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, Mexico and South Sudan.  Murphy issued the ruling Tuesday night after lawyers for the immigrants from Myanmar and Vietnam accused the Trump administration of illegally deporting their clients to third-party countries. They argue there is a court order blocking such removals. Murphy’s ruling said the government must “maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rubio announced in April that the U.S. would revoke visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and no others would be issued, attributing the change to “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” according to a statement posted on X at the time.  The U.S. has third-party deportation agreements with a handful of countries, the most prominent being El Salvador, which has accepted hundreds of Venezuelan deportees from the Trump administration. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.