Panahi wins Palme d’Or at Cannes 2025; see full list of winners

At the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi took home the coveted Palme d'Or for his audacious and darkly comedic feature It Was Just an Accident. Inspired by his own incarceration, Panahi’s film blends absurdist humour with simmering rage, tracing the story of five former detainees convinced they've encountered the prosecutor who tortured them, though none are certain, having been blindfolded during their detentions. The psychological thriller, laced with sharp social commentary, earned praise for its inventive narrative and biting critique.

According to Variety, the final day of the festival proved unexpectedly chaotic. A widespread power outage plunged the venue into temporary disarray, halting screenings and leaving attendees scrambling in confusion. Despite the disruption, the closing ceremony proceeded as planned, capping off an otherwise serene edition of Cannes.

Cannes Film Festival 2025 — Full List of Winners
Main Competition
Palme d'Or: It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi
Grand Prix: Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier
Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho — The Secret Agent
Best Actor: Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent
Best Actress: Nadia Melliti — Little Sister
Jury Prize: (Tie) Sirat — Oliver Laxe & Sound of Falling — Mascha Schilinski
Special Award (Prix Spécial): Resurrection — Bi Gan
Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne — Young Mothers

Other Awards
Camera d'Or: The President’s Cake — Hasan Hadi
Camera d'Or Special Mention: My Father’s Shadow — Akinola Davies Jr.
Short Film Palme d'Or: I'm Glad You're Dead Now — Tawfeek Barhom
Short Film Special Mention: Ali — Adnan Al Rajeev
Golden Eye Documentary Prize: Imago — Deni Oumar Pitsaev
Golden Eye Special Jury Prize: The Six Billion Dollar Man — Eugene Jarecki
Queer Palm: Little Sister — Hafsia Herzi
Palm Dog: Panda — The Love That Remains
FIPRESCI Prize (Competition): The Secret Agent — Kleber Mendonça Filho
FIPRESCI Prize (Un Certain Regard): Urchin — Harris Dickinson
FIPRESCI Prize (Parallel Sections): Dandelion’s Odyssey — Momoko Seto

Un Certain Regard
Top Prize: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo — Diego Céspedes
Jury Prize: A Poet — Simon Mesa Soto
Best Director: Tarzan and Arab Nasser — Once Upon a Time in Gaza
Performance Awards: Cleo Diara — I Only Rest in the Storm; Frank Dillane — Urchin
Best Screenplay: Harry Lighton — Pillion
Special Mention: Norah — Tawfik Alzaidi

Directors’ Fortnight
Europa Cinemas Label & SACD Prize: Wild Foxes — Valery Carnoy
Audience Award: The President’s Cake — Hasan Hadi

Critics’ Week
Grand Prize: A Useful Ghost — Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
French Touch Prize: Imago — Deni Oumar Pitsaev
GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: Left-Handed Girl — Le Pacte
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star: Theodore Pellerin — Nino
Leitz Cine Discovery Prize (Short): L'mina — Randa Maroufi
SACD Prize (Short): Sleepless City — Guillermo Galoe & Victor Alonso-Berbel
Canal+ Short Film Award: Erogenesis — Xandra Popescu