One of the world’s great filmmakers, writer-director Jafar Panahi has twice been imprisoned by the Iranian government. He has also been the Golden Lion winner at Venice (The Circle) and the Golden Bear winner at Berlin (Taxi). He now adds Cannes’ Palme d’Or to his honors for this revenge thriller infused with moral complexity, dark humor, and unmistakable rage that begins with a mechanic kidnapping a visitor to his shop.

Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) is convinced that Eghbal (Ebrahim Aziz) is the security officer who tortured him years earlier after authorities blindfolded and detained him. When Eghbal insists Vahid has the wrong man, Vahid invites several friends victimized by the same man to verify his identity.

Panahi, informed by his own experience, melds the personal with the political to craft a gripping and powerful genre piece that is both deeply critical of Iran’s repressive regime and bitingly funny.
– Tim Grierson

In Persian with English subtitles
Director: Jafar Panahi (Iran/France 2025) 101 min.