Cannes, 25 May 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for "It Was Just an Accident," beating 21 other entries to secure the top prize.

The film is a thriller about a group of former prisoners in Iran who manage to abduct the guard allegedly responsible for torturing them in prison.

Panahi, who was imprisoned from July 2022 to February 2023, is one of Iran's most internationally renowned filmmakers.

He previously won the top prizes at the Venice Film Festival and the Berlinale festival in the German capital.

After thanking his family and his team on stage, Panahi addressed "all Iranians, regardless of their opinions, in Iran and around the world."

He said: "The most important thing is our country and the freedom of our country. Let us together reach the moment when no one dares to tell us what to wear, what to do or what not to do."

Hollywood star Cate Blanchett gave a speech before the awards, praising "the festival's understanding that cinema creates openings for wider social conversations to take place."

"Here, these dialogues are encouraged to take root, where otherwise, they risk being hijacked by the self-serving world of national and personal political ambition," she said.

The festival's second most important award, the Grand Prix, went to Joachim Trier for his film "Sentimental Value."

The Jury Prize was awarded to "Sound of Falling" by Mascha Schilinski and "Sirât" by Oliver Laxe.

Schilinski, from Berlin, said she wanted to "dedicate this award to all those who live in places where it is not easy or impossible or hardly possible to make films - and especially to young filmmakers and women in particular."

"Your voices are important. Don't give up on them," she added.

Kleber Mendonça Filho won the prize for best director for "The Secret Agent," while Bi Gan's "Resurrection" received the festival's Special Award.

Nadia Melliti took home the prize for best actress for her role in the film "Little Sister." Wagner Moura won as best actor for "The Secret Agent."

The prize for the best screenplay went to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their film "Young Mothers."

The jury of the 78th Cannes Film Festival was chaired by actress Juliette Binoche.

The festival's closing awards ceremony took place as planned despite a power outage in the city of Cannes earlier in the day, which authorities suspect was caused by arson.

Some 160,000 homes in the coastal resort and neighbouring municipalities were affected on Saturday following an overnight blaze at a power station, electricity network operator RTE wrote on X. Power was restored later in the day.

While the festival's main venue - the Festival Palace - has its own independent power supply and was unaffected, film screenings at other locations were interrupted.

Police are still investigating the power cut. A police spokeswoman said authorities believe the fire, in the municipality of Tanneron, may have been started deliberately.

However, she was unable to say whether there was a connection between the incident and the film festival.