Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who won the top prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, is a twice-jailed arthouse cinema veteran whose films are banned in his homeland.

The 64-year-old is a symbol of artistic defiance who repeatedly challenges his country's strict censorship laws to produce movies about Iran's social and cultural struggles.

His latest production "It Was Just an Accident" tells the story of five formerly imprisoned Iranians who are confronted with a man they believe to have been their torturer in jail.

Shot in secret, it is partly inspired by Panahi's own experiences behind bars following his most recent near seven-month prison term in 2022-2023 which ended with a hunger strike.

"I'm alive as long as I'm making films. If I'm not making films, then what happens to me no longer matters," he told AFP in an interview last week.

He has won a host of prizes at European film festivals and showcased his debut film "The White Balloon" in Cannes in 1995 which won an award for best first feature.

Saturday's win is his highest honour yet and was presented to him in person on........

© Al Monitor