CANNES, France 鈥 The 78th Cannes Film Festival opens Tuesday in an exuberant mood, even as the movie industry faces serious challenges with declining theatrical attendance, the continued rise of streaming services and the threat of punitive new U.S. tariffs.
鈥淒uring times that seem to want to separate, compartmentalize or subjugate, the Festival de Cannes wants to (re)unite,鈥 an official statement read. 鈥淭o bring bodies, hearts and souls closer together; to encourage freedom and portray movement in order to perpetuate it; to embody the whirlwind of life to celebrate it, again and again.鈥
As a symbol of its embracing joie de vivre, the sun-blessed, star-studded and cinema-adoring festival on the shores of the French Riviera will open with a debut feature for the first time: Am茅lie Bonnin鈥檚 comedy 鈥淧artir un jour.鈥
Preparations get underway in Cannes the morning before the 78th Edition of the Cannes Film Festival opens. (May 12, 2025 / AP Video)
In another first, Cannes this year has doubled down on its iconography, offering not one but two official posters. Each shows a different angle of a passionate hug between actors Anouk Aim茅e and Jean-Louis Trintignant in Claude Lelouch鈥檚 1966 romantic drama聽鈥淎 Man and a Woman,鈥 which won that year鈥檚 Palme d鈥橭r and later Oscars for foreign language film and original screenplay.
For the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, running May 13-24, there are two official posters, showing both sides of a love embrace between Anouk Aim茅e and Jean-Louis Trintignant in Claude Lelouch鈥檚 鈥淎 Man and a Woman.鈥澛
Peter Howell/海角社区官网StarCannes programmers selected dozens of films from a record 2,909 feature submissions, revelling in the fest鈥檚 recent distinction as an Oscars bellwether.
Last year鈥檚 Palme d鈥橭r winner, Sean Baker鈥檚 sex comedy 鈥淎nora,鈥 went on to take five Oscars, including best picture, at the 2025 Academy Awards. Three other Cannes 鈥24 premieres 鈥 鈥淓milia P茅rez,鈥 鈥淭he Substance鈥 and 鈥淔low鈥 鈥 collectively took four Oscars for a record nine wins (out of 31 nominations) in a single year for Cannes films.
The fest hopes to again make an impact on awards season and movie-going in general, despite worrisome industry signs that include a seven per cent drop in North American box office revenues for the first quarter of 2025, a much-discussed claim by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos that movie theatres are 鈥渙utdated鈥 and 鈥渙utmoded鈥 because people prefer to watch films at home, and a recent threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a devastating tariff on films not made in America.
Cannes chief Thierry Fr茅maux expressed reluctance to speculate on what Trump is planning. Like most people, he’s unsure what Trump wants to achieve and whether or not he’ll act on his threat.
鈥淭he American president has, over the last three months, accustomed us to saying one thing and then adding to it, elaborating on it, contradicting it, etc. So ... I don’t know what to say,鈥 he told a press conference Monday.
Fr茅maux declared himself an unabashed fan of American movies 鈥 there are lots of them at this year’s fest 鈥 and no matter what happens with tariffs, he’s confident films will still be made and seen worldwide because “cinema always finds a way.”
Canadian filmmakers have a strong presence at Cannes this year, with six films and an interactive work on the roster, offering everything from animated bread to existential crises.
Competing for the festival鈥檚 short film Palme d鈥橭r is Montreal filmmaker Martine Frossard鈥檚 鈥淗ypersensitive,鈥 a National Film Board animation, based on her childhood memories and imagination, that鈥檚 described as 鈥渁 powerful reminder that to be sensitive is to be alive.鈥
It鈥檚 one of only 11 competitors for the short film Palme, selected from 4,781 submissions worldwide. Canada has won the prize twice before 鈥 for 鈥淏linkity Blank鈥 by Norman McLaren in 1955 and 鈥淲hen the Day Breaks鈥 by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis in 1999 鈥 although it has yet to win the feature film Palme.
鈥淗ypersensitive,鈥 an animated short by Montreal’s Martine Frossard, is competing for the short film Palme d鈥橭r at Cannes.
National Film BoardThe Directors鈥 Fortnight, the fest’s independent parallel section known as the Quinzaine, has long been a haven for Canuck filmmakers, from Denys Arcand to Denis Villeneuve, and this year boasts a bumper crop. The section鈥檚 new audience award, introduced last year, was won by Winnipegger Matthew Rankin鈥檚 satirical 鈥淯niversal Language.鈥澛
New features by three Canadian directors will compete for the Quinzaine audience prize this year: Anne 脡mond鈥檚 romance-during-crisis comedy 鈥淎mour Apocalypse (Peak Everything),鈥 F茅lix Dufour-Laperri猫re鈥檚 ghostly terrorism animation 鈥淟a Mort n鈥檈xiste pas (Death Does Not Exist),鈥 and Korean Canadian Lloyd Lee Choi鈥檚 social drama 鈥淟ucky Lu,鈥 a U.S./Canada co-production set in New York鈥檚 Chinatown.
The NFB animated short 鈥淏read Will Walk鈥 by Alex Boya, a nightmarish comedy about a young man transformed into a breadlike mutant during a zombie apocalypse, is also screening in the Quinzaine. The film鈥檚 multiple characters are voiced by comic actor Jay Baruchel.
Alex Boya’s animated short 鈥淏read Will Walk,鈥 voiced by Jay Baruchel, screens in the Director鈥檚 Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
National Film BoardA restored Canadian film classic, the 1999 Robert Lantos-produced wartime drama 鈥淪unshine,鈥 written and directed by Istv谩n Szab贸 and starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, will screen in the Cannes Classics section.
Canada is also part of the interactive zone at Cannes, with the Canada/Luxembourg co-production 鈥淭he Dollhouse鈥 by Dominic Desjardins and Charlotte Bruneau. The intriguing synopsis: 鈥淚n an unfolding world of paper, a little girl uses play to unravel her haunting memories.鈥
In this year鈥檚 Palme d鈥橭r competition are 22 films, seven directed by women 鈥 a number that ties a record set in 2023 and underscores Cannes鈥 ongoing commitment to improve gender representation.
Among the women directors are 2021 Palme winner Julia Ducournau (鈥淎lpha鈥), Kelly Reichardt (鈥淭he Mastermind鈥), Hafsia Herzi (鈥淭he Little Sister鈥), Carla Sim贸n (鈥淩omer铆a鈥), Chie Hayakawa (鈥淩enoir鈥) and Mascha Schilinski (鈥淪ound of Falling鈥). Lynne Ramsay is a late addition to the Palme contest with her highly anticipated 鈥淒ie, My Love.鈥 Ramsay鈥檚 film, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, adapts Ariana Harwicz鈥檚 novel about a woman battling personal demons in the French countryside.
Genre cinema is making a strong return, with thrillers and action films in the spotlight. Tom Cruise鈥檚 espionage series swan song 鈥淢ission: Impossible聽鈥 The Final Reckoning鈥 screens out of competition with much attendant hoopla; will it match the military jet flyover for his 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥 in 2022?
Wes Anderson鈥檚 latest bit of whimsy, 鈥淭he Phoenician Scheme鈥 鈥 featuring Benicio del Toro, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and Canada鈥檚 Michael Cera 鈥 will compete for the Palme.
Other anticipated thrillers include Kleber Mendon莽a Filho鈥檚 鈥淭he Secret Agent鈥 and Dominik Moll鈥檚 鈥淐ase 137,鈥 a crime drama starring L茅a Drucker.
Ari Aster, director of “Midsommar” and “Hereditary,” makes his Cannes competition debut with 鈥淓ddington,鈥 a COVID-era drama set in small-town New Mexico, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal.
Auteurs returning to the main competition include the two-time Palme winners Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne with 鈥淭he Young Mother’s Home,鈥 Joachim Trier with 鈥淪entimental Value鈥 and Richard Linklater with 鈥淣ouvelle Vague,鈥 a French-language homage to Jean-Luc Godard鈥檚 French New Wave classic 鈥淏reathless.鈥
Actor Juliette Binoche leads a female-dominated Palme d鈥橭r jury, which also includes actors Halle Berry, Alba Rohrwacher and Jeremy Strong; writer-directors Payal Kapadia, Hong Sangsoo and Carlos Reygadas; documentarian Dieudo Hamadi; and writer Le茂la Slimani.
Three A-list actors are making their directorial debuts at Cannes 2025 in the Un Certain Regard sidebar program.
Scarlett Johansson鈥檚 鈥淓leanor the Great鈥 stars June Squibb as a 94-year-old woman starting over in New York City.
Kristen Stewart, left, directs Imogen Poots on the set of 鈥淭he Chronology of Water,鈥 the story of a young woman growing up amid violence and addiction who finds refuge in literature. It is premiering at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.聽
Cannes Film FestivalKristen Stewart鈥檚 鈥淭he Chronology of Water鈥 stars Imogen Poots and Sonic Youth rocker Kim Gordon in the story of a young woman growing up amid violence and addiction who finds refuge in literature.
Harris Dickinson, known for the recent erotic thriller 鈥淏abygirl鈥 and his upcoming role as John Lennon in a four-film Beatles biopic series, debuts as a director with 鈥淯rchin,鈥 a drama about a London street drifter.
The festival鈥檚 opening night will include a tribute to Robert De Niro. He鈥檒l receive an honorary Palme d’Or for his career, 14 years after serving as president of the jury in 2011.
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival runs through May 24.
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