It Was Just an Accident

Name: It Was Just an Accident
Start: 2025-12-11T18:00
End: 2025-12-11T20:00
Location: Watershed

12A

Film

Fri 5 - Thu 11 Dec

Director: Jafar Panahi
Cast: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi
Details: 105 mins, Subtitled, 2025, Iran
Primary language: Persian

Book Tickets

Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, It Was Just an Accident is a fearless tour-de-force from cinematic luminary Jafar Panahi. Both urgently political and deeply humane, this new moral classic confronts truth and uncertainty, revenge and mercy, head-on.

When auto mechanic Vahid unexpectedly encounters the man who may have been his torturer in prison, he kidnaps him with the intention to exact vengeance. But since the sole clue to Eghbal’s identity is the distinct squeak of his prosthetic leg, Vahid turns to a loose circle of other now-freed victims for confirmation. And the danger only escalates.

As they deal with their past and diverging worldviews, the group struggles to decide: Is this him, without a doubt? What would retribution mean, in actuality?

Unraveling against the ever-present backdrop of authoritarianism, It Was Just an Accident coalesces into a climactic act of resistance by an Iranian auteur who is no stranger to unjust detainment himself. Powered by thrilling momentum and peerless craft, France’s Best International Feature Film entry to the 98th Academy Awards® asks us to consider – and reconsider – the line between right and wrong.

The Wed 10 Dec 17:30 screening of It Was Just an Accident will be followed by a Thought in Action discussion. Thought in Action is a film screening and discussion series co-organised by Watershed and UWE Philosophy, Politics, and International Relations.

It Was Just an Accident on Fri 5 Dec 11:00 is an Elevenses screening. Get a free tea or filter coffee when you purchase a cake from the Café & Bar.

Choose screening date & time for: It Was Just an Accident

Fri 5 Dec

11:00 (ends 13:00) ES 14:40 (ends 16:40) 18:00 (ends 20:00)

Sat 6 Dec

11:20 (ends 13:20) 13:50 (ends 15:50) 20:50 (ends 22:50)

Sun 7 Dec

11:30 (ends 13:30) 17:00 (ends 19:00)

Tue 9 Dec

15:00 (ends 17:00) Bite 17:40 (ends 19:40) Bite

Wed 10 Dec

11:00 (ends 13:00) Baby

This is a Cinébabies screening

For parents/carers with babies under 12 months – sorry but no baby no entry.

Book tickets

Close notice

17:30 (ends 20:05) QA, Intro 20:40 (ends 22:40)

Thu 11 Dec

15:00 (ends 17:00) 18:00 (ends 20:00)

Pricing

Unless otherwise stated the cost of cinema tickets is as follows:

Screenings before 16:00 Monday to Friday and before 14:00 at weekends
£9.00 full (plus 12% booking fee*) / £6.00 concessions (plus 12% booking fee*).

Screenings after 16:00 Monday to Friday and after 14:00 at weekends
£11.50 full (plus 12% booking fee*) / £9.00 concessions (plus 12% booking fee*).

Aged 24 or under and refugees and asylum seekers
Any screening, any day any time for £6.00 (plus 12% booking fee*).

*Booking fee applies to online and phone booking only.

Buy a Club Shed membership and enjoy 15% off cinema and Undershed tickets, advance booking for special events, discounts in the Café & Bar and more.

Access

Cinema seat widths
Our cinema seats are 46cm wide, with wooden armrests on either side of each seat that can’t be moved.

We can provide seats without armrests or bean bags as alternatives at the front of the cinema if that is more comfortable for you. Please just call our Box Office on (0117) 927 5100 or book in-person to arrange.

Access Register
Join our Access Register to help us deliver the best possible experience for you. You can sign up to our Access Register online, or in person at Box Office or by calling (0117) 927 5100.

Concessions

Concessions apply to Full Time Students, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance, 66+ who have retired, Equity and BECTU members and disabled people.

Where applicable please produce proof of eligibility when collecting a ticket.