The longest trip home \u2013 it began with an accident destined to set off a chain of events that’s both surreally comical and utterly chilling. In the late hours of the night, Eghbal \u2013 travelling with his wife and daughter \u2013 accidentally runs over a dog and damages the car engine. In search of a helping hand, the family encounters a former political prisoner, Vahid, who recognises the sound of Eghbal\u2019s prosthetic limb and claims Eghbal was once his torturer. The man cannot recall the face or appearance of his abuser \u2013 yet memory proves stubborn and prompts action. As they return home, the family has no idea that the unfortunate incident with the poor dog will alter all their lives\u2026<\/p>\n
The pioneer of Iranian film, dissident Panahi through his four decades of creative work has always reminded us that film is a form of manipulation that can be as dramatic as it is comic. Also his latest piece \u2013 recently awarded the Palme d\u2019Or at Cannes \u2013 merges the personal with the political, historical memory with the present, and a macabre hymn to absurdity with the best Hitchcockian strokes. In recent years, making films under the constraints of government arrest and a travel ban, and especially in his most recent oeuvre No Bears<\/i> (2022) Panahi has played around with the very form of filmmaking and what ultimately makes it into the frame. The film is rooted in Panahi\u2019s experience while imprisoned, and upon receiving the award in Cannes after a 22-year absence, he said: \u201cWhat matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country\u201d.<\/p>\n","images":[{"ID":41518,"id":41518,"title":"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT Still 01","filename":"IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-scaled.jpg","filesize":632970,"url":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-scaled.jpg","alt":"","author":"21","description":"","caption":"","name":"9eae4b5253f74d84bf6a4ca5ae3fd76a","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":41041,"date":"2025-07-17 22:50:47","modified":"2025-07-17 22:51:19","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1350,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-250x132.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":132,"medium_large":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-768x405.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":405,"large":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-1500x791.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":475,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-1536x810.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":810,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-2048x1080.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1080,"large1200":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-1200x633.jpg","large1200-width":1200,"large1200-height":633,"large1800":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-1800x949.jpg","large1800-width":1800,"large1800-height":949,"small":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-120x63.jpg","small-width":120,"small-height":63,"uncompressed":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-scaled.jpg","uncompressed-width":2560,"uncompressed-height":1350,"custom-size":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT-Still-01-1-700x200.jpg","custom-size-width":700,"custom-size-height":200}}],"in_cinemas":null,"on_demand":null,"not_available":null,"rights_expiry_date":null,"trailer_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/56EZOiHTdG4?si=Y7O0bFPJlJhORZke&t=2","film_category":"496","film_category_title":"Festival Selection","film_category_link":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/programme-2025\/festival-selection\/","film_category_title_2":null,"film_category_link_2":null,"film_parent_select":null,"screenings":[{"month":"october","date":"17","end_date":"","time":"21:00","time_end":"","venue_url_languages":[{"type":"buy","sold_out":false,"closed":false,"free":false,"soon":false,"custom_button_text":"","invitation_only":false,"accreditations_only":false,"guest_accreditations_only":false,"guest_notice_with_icon":"","venue":"splz","custom_venue_text":"","url":"","bilesu_servisa_id":"476403","custom_tickets_url":"","apply_url":"","subtitle_language":[{"value":"lv","label":"Latvian (lv)"},{"value":"en","label":"English (en)"}],"closed_captions_language":[],"audio_description_language":[],"audio_language":[]}],"tags":false,"event_post_title":"It Was Just an Accident","event_post_url":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/films-2025\/tas-bija-tikai-negadijums\/","event_parent_details":[]}],"screenings_from_prog":null,"screenings_merged":[{"month":"october","date":"17","end_date":"","time":"21:00","time_end":"","venue_url_languages":[{"type":"buy","sold_out":false,"closed":false,"free":false,"soon":false,"custom_button_text":"","invitation_only":false,"accreditations_only":false,"guest_accreditations_only":false,"guest_notice_with_icon":"","venue":"splz","custom_venue_text":"","url":"","bilesu_servisa_id":"476403","custom_tickets_url":"","apply_url":"","subtitle_language":[{"value":"lv","label":"Latvian (lv)"},{"value":"en","label":"English (en)"}],"closed_captions_language":[],"audio_description_language":[],"audio_language":[]}],"tags":false,"event_post_title":"It Was Just an Accident","event_post_url":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/films-2025\/tas-bija-tikai-negadijums\/","event_parent_details":[]}],"artist":null,"album":null,"custom_supporter_title":"","supporter":false,"supporter_from_parent":null,"supporter_from_parent_title":null,"curators_foreword":"Panahi, an opponent of the Iranian government, does not make films to say authoritarian regimes are bad. 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