Bard Campus Calendar

Middle Eastern Studies Presents

MES Spring Film Series Fractal Realities: It was Just an Accident

Monday, February 9, 2026

Bertelsmann Campus Center, Weis Cinema
6:00 pm EST/GMT-5

It was Just an Accident, dir. Jafar Panahi (2025). Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

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.

Watch the trailer here.

For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 6:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Bertelsmann Campus Center, Weis Cinema

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