Panahi, acclaimed globally for his courageous filmmaking, has earned top accolades from the world’s three major film festivals: the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year for “It Was Just an Accident”, the Golden Lion at Venice for “The Circle” (2002), and the Golden Bear at Berlin for “Taxi” (2015).

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was barred from travelling by the government in Tehran for 15 years, appeared on the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet on Tuesday evening for the premiere of his competition entry "It Was Just An Accident".