CANNES: Revenge thriller It WasJust An Accident by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was last at the Cannes Film Festival in person more than 20 years ago, won the Palme d`Or top prize on Saturday.

Panahi, who has been arrested several times for his filmmaking and was under a travel ban until recently, last attended the festival in person in 2003, when Crimson Gold was screened in the Un Certain Regard category.

With the Palme d`Or, Panahi now has the rare honour of winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after nabbing Berlin`s Golden Bear for Taxi in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for The Circle in 2000.

`Art mobilises the creative energy of the most precious, most alive part of us. A force that transforms darkness into forgiveness, hope and new life,` said jury president Juliette Binoche when announcing the award.

It WasJust An Accident follows Vahid, played by Vahid Mobasseri, who kidnaps a man with a false leg who looks just like the one who tortured him in prison and ruined his life.

Vahid sets out to verify with other prison survivors that it is indeed their torturer and then decide what to do with him.

An emotional Panahi, wearing sunglasses on stage, thanked his cast and film crew during his acceptance speech.

Speaking through a French translator on stage, the 64-year-old director also addressed the win to all Iranians, saying the most important thing was Iran and the freedom of the country.

The Grand Prix, the second-highest prize after the Palme d`Or, was awarded to Sentimental Value from acclaimed director Joachim Trier.

The jury prize was split between the intergenerational family drama Sound of Falling from German director Mascha Schilinski and Sirat, about a father and son who head into the Moroccan desert, by FrenchSpanish director Oliver Laxe.

Brazil`s The Secret Agent won two awards, one for best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as best director for Kleber Mendonca Filho.

`I was having Champagne,` said Mendonca Filho after he ran up to the stage to collect his award after celebrating Moura, who previously made a name for himself in hit TV series Narcos.

Newcomer Nadia Melliti took home best actress for The Little Sister, a queer coming-of-age story centred around the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris.

Belgium`s Dardenne brothers, who have the rare honour of already having won two Palme d`Or prizes, took home the award for best screenplay for their film Young Mothers.

Power cut Saturday`s closing ceremony went off without a hitch after the Cannes area was hit by a power outage for several hours.

The Palais des Festival venue had to switch to an independent power supply during that time to ensure all scheduled events and screenings could take place.

Twenty-two films in total were competing for the prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with entries from well-known directors Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Ari Aster.

Outside the competition, director Spike Lee brought Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington, to the festival, while Tom Cruise was in town for what could be his final Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning.

Washington, who was only briefly at the festival due to obligations to Broadway show Othello, received a surprise honorary Palme d`Or on Monday night in recognition ofhis outstanding career.

Robert De Niro also received an honorary Palme d`Or, which was previously announced, during the opening ceremony on May 13.-Reuters