Yek Tasadof-e Sade (It Was Just An Accident)

Jafar Panahi is coming to the Ultimate Picture Palace on Tuesday 1 December, with his film Yek Tasadof-e Sade (It Was Just An Accident). It's a dark and touching political satire that won the Palme d'Or in 2025, and it's being shown as part of the Laughing at Utopia Film Series.

The story follows a former political prisoner who crosses paths with a man he believes was his torturer, but can't be entirely sure of. Panahi uses that uncertainty to take a swipe at the callousness and hollow ideological utopianism of Iran's autocratic regime, while at the same time questioning the moral utopias of freedom, justice and revenge. It's a heavy subject, but the satire keeps it from feeling too bleak.

The screening is part of the Laughing at Utopia Film Series, curated by the TORCH Humour Network together with the Ultimate Picture Palace — Oxford's oldest independent cinema. The series looks at the playful and provocative relationship between utopia and satire, and it runs as part of 'Utopia Now!', a season considering the role of the arts in making a better future possible. Each screening opens with a special introduction from a University of Oxford speaker, so you'll get a bit of context before the film starts.

Practical details: the film runs 2 hours and 5 minutes, in Persian and Azerbaijani with English subtitles, and is rated 12+. It starts at 18:00 on Tuesday 1 December at the Ultimate Picture Palace, Jeune Street, Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1BN.