Naman Shrestha
Written and directed by Palme d’Or-winning Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ is an Iranian thriller drama film that revolves around a group of former Iranian political prisoners who encounter one of their potential tormentors and seek revenge. When a family man named Eghbal accidentally runs over a dog while driving to his countryside home with his pregnant wife and daughter, his car suddenly malfunctions, and he is forced to take help from a car mechanic named Vahid. Formerly a prisoner, the mechanic finds the sound of his prosthetic leg similar to the noise his former jailhouse captor made while he was blindfolded.
The following day, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and drives him to a secluded desert in order to bury him alive. However, a cloud of doubt blurs the auto mechanic’s intentions as the family man maintains his innocence. Unsure of his judgment, Vahid then gathers other former prisoners and consults with them about whether Eghbal could be their tormentor. Thus, the fate of the man in their van is in the hands of the group of former prisoners, who must choose between vengeance and forgiveness. Originally titled ‘Yek Tasadef Sadeh,’ the crime mystery film takes place in a variety of backdrops, including the rugged landscape of the desert, the prison, and more.
It Was Just an Accident Filming Locations
The shooting for ‘It Was Just an Accident’ reportedly took place entirely in Iran, particularly in and around Tehran. According to reports, principal photography was finished within 30 shooting days in total, but it was spread out over a much longer period, seemingly in 2024. During the filming process, the production team was forced to pause shooting for approximately 20 days due to the arrival of security forces at the set. According to reports, not only did Panahi shoot the film in secret without obtaining a filming permit from the Islamic Republic, but the actresses on set did not always wear the hijab, which is otherwise mandatory by law in Iran. Despite the complications, the makers did their best not to disrupt the emotional and visual continuity of the production.
Tehran, Iran
Jafar Panahi and the team had to undertake drastic precautions while shooting for ‘It Was Just an Accident’ in the Iranian city of Tehran. A majority of the narrative of the thriller film unfolds during the daytime as Vahid strives to exact revenge on the man he thinks was his torturer while he was in prison. A seamless transition from the opening nighttime sequences into the scenes set during the day required the production team to meticulously film in real time on different days. To provide the audience with an immersive experience, they carefully mapped out different ways to maintain uniformity in brightness levels, sunlight, and shadows. It was all carefully stitched together in post-production.
To ensure the visual canvas remained gritty and raw, the team ventured into the interiors of Tehran, including several old streets. A few sequences were also lensed in a remote desert as well as a van. The schedule reportedly faced heavy disruptions due to the risk of intervention from the government authorities, owing to its sensitive subject matter. However, each member of the team put in unwavering effort to devote adherence and perform detailed work at every phase of the filming process. According to reports, since the team never obtained permits from the officials, they resorted to filming in secret, taking steps to evade any disruptions.
To pull it all off, Panahi turned towards his reliable partners and creative allies. One such dependable collaborator is the film’s editor, Amir Etminan. Despite knowing the risks of potential arrest and a ban on working on the project, he didn’t hesitate to work in isolation in a safehouse without any input from an assistant. Etminan shared that the director chose not to have a full-fledged script to avoid discovery by officials in case they intruded on the set. To continue their secretive production process, Panahi arrived on set with the day’s dialogue and shooting instructions.
Highlighting the complexities of the situation, Panahi told Variety, in part, “But of course, this is only the official aspect. In reality, given the subject that I wanted to deal with and the script that I had in mind, there was no way I could submit it to a commission and wait for their approval to make this film. So in reality, although the formal situation is different, for me it was exactly the same. I had to work in total secrecy, and again, do clandestine filmmaking with only my very close crew being aware of the subject of the film and of the content of the script. It was only my DP, my sound person and my actors. They were the only ones who really knew what we were going to work with, and that was the way we had to proceed all the way through.”
In an interview with Vulture, Panahi opened up about an incident that transpired in the summer of 2024. He divulged that they were stopped by the officials mid-shoot and instructed to surrender the materials related to the film in their possession. He shared that while they did submit their memory card, it was empty and had no footage. Following that encounter, Panahi said they took a break for several weeks and ultimately decided to wrap up editing in France. “If you want to make a movie in Iran, you have to accept that is not possible through a regular path, you have to find an alternative path, and you either have to find it yourself or use other people’s experience in doing so,” Panahi told NBC News.
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