MUBI – quick links
MUBI: new this week
It Was Just An Accident – 17 July
Film (2025). An auto mechanic, suspecting that a man he encounters may have been his former torturer in prison, kidnaps him in pursuit of vengeance. With the only clue to the suspect’s identity being the squeak of a prosthetic leg, Vahid seeks confirmation from other recently released victims. As the investigation unfolds, the situation becomes increasingly perilous.
This morally charged drama transforms an apparently routine roadside encounter into a tense exploration of guilt, suspicion, and state violence. It Was Just an Accident extends Panahi’s tradition of deceptively simple yet politically resonant storytelling. Utilising confined settings, real-time tension, and meticulously observed daily interactions, the film eschews melodrama in favour of subtle psychological intensity, offering a controlled study of power and fear in contemporary Iran.
Recipient of the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Cinema By Any Means: A Jafar Panahi Retrospective – 17 July
Collection. A retrospective celebrating the work of Jafar Panahi — whose defiant, inventive cinema has persisted through imprisonment, house arrest, and travel bans, always finding a way to document the humanity of contemporary Iran.
Includes It Was Just an Accident, No Bears, Closed Curtain, Crimson Gold, The White Balloon, Offside, The Circle, The Mirror.
Stephanie Rothman’s Feminist Exploitations – 17 July
Collection. Celebrating three standout films by 1970s exploitation director Stephanie Rothman, known for politically and socially astute films with badass female leads. Her counter-culture films fought back against the male gaze of 1970s New Hollywood.
Includes Group Marriage, Terminal Island, The Working Girls.
MUBI: recent highlights
Amores Perros – 10 July
Film (2000). Alejandro González Iñárritu’s first film is a powerful story that weaves together three lives connected by a violent car crash in Mexico City. One story follows a teenager who risks everything to run away with his brother’s wife. Another centres on a model who loses everything after moving in with her lover. The third follows a homeless man who confronts memories from his past. As these stories develop, we see chaos, cruelty, and tenderness, showing that the characters are more connected than they first appear.
Phantoms Of July – 3 July
Film (2025). Julian Radlmaier’s fourth film is a bittersweet and whimsical story that spans centuries in the German town of Sangerhausen. Ursula, a heartbroken waitress from East Germany, and Neda, a lonely Iranian YouTuber recovering from a broken arm, meet by chance and mistaken identity. Their encounter leads to an unexpected ghost hunt in the mountains, where the ghosts of history have a playful conversation with the dissatisfied people of modern Germany.
Sirāt – 12 June
Film (2025). Oliver Laxe’s Sirât presents a hypnotic and immersive narrative set in the deserts of North Africa, chronicling a father and son’s search for their missing daughter following her disappearance at an underground rave in Morocco. As the protagonists move from one remote gathering to the next, their quest evolves into an exploration of spiritual, existential, and ultimately unknowable dimensions.
Read ScreenHub’s five-star review.
God Is Shy – 19 June
Film (2025). Jocelyn Charles’ poised and formally inventive debut short film, God Is Shy, opens with an apparently innocent game in which two young passengers sketch their fears during a train journey. However, the dynamic shifts when a mysterious woman intervenes, transforming the encounter into increasingly unsettling, ambiguous territory.
