Reel Time: It Was Just An Accident

Reel Time features some of the best films from the Toronto International Film Festival. Organized by Banff Centre, Reel Time has brought alternative cinema to the Bow Valley for over fifteen years.

Celebrated by critics for its spare elegance, emotional force, and moral clarity, It Was Just an Accident is both urgent and universal. Audiences will be drawn into its subtle tension and left reflecting long after the credits roll.

Vahid, an unassuming mechanic, has a chance encounter with Eghbal, a man he strongly suspects to be his former sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, Vahid gathers several former prisoners, all abused by that same captor, to try and confirm Eghbal's identity. As the bickering group drives around Tehran with the captive, they must confront how far to take matters into their own hands with their presumed tormentor. From master filmmaker Jafar Panahi comes a searing moral thriller that engages with complex ideas about the uncertainty of the truth and the choice between revenge and mercy, as Panahi turns his personal dissonance into a profound and galvanizing work of art.

Director: Jafar Panahi

Iran, France, Luxembourg | 2025 | 105m | Persian

Palme D'Or, Cannes (2025)

Banff Centre gratefully acknowledges our partnership with Film Circuit, presented by TIFF, and its sponsors and supporters. For more information about Film Circuit and to view a full list of their sponsors and supporters, please visit www.tiff.net/filmcircuit.

Tickets: $14 each

Buy all 4: $46 at the Door

March 2 | No Other Choice

April 6 | The Secret Agent

May 4 | Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)