The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled its roster of films for this year’s edition, filled with historical dramas, “gentleness” and even football, with the absence of major Hollywood studios to dampen the American glitz of previous editions.
21 films vying for Palme d’Or
Festival director Thierry Frémaux unveiled the 21 films in competition for the main Palme d’Or award, including former winners, newcomers, and strong showings from Spain and Japan.
Frontrunners for the top prize include Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda with AI-themed Sheep in the Box, Romania’s Cristian Mungiu with Fjord and Russian writer Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose film Minotaur focuses on wealthy Russians facing recruitment.
Spanish veteran and Cannes favorite Pedro Almodóvar will appear for the seventh time with his Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), about a film director, while exiled Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi will represent Iran with Histoires Paralleles (Parallel Tales).
Commenting on the selection for the 12–23 May festival, Frémaux said that many Western films would be a form of escape from the grim reality of current affairs, with a focus on “gentleness, song, nature”, while others were “bringing history into the present”.
Introducing Rudy Rosenberg’s French film Quelques mots d’amour (A Few Love Words), he quipped: “You see? We all need some love and tenderness.”
About 2,500 films were submitted for selection, a figure Frémaux underlined the vitality of the cinema industry, which is struggling as audiences switch to streaming and home entertainment.
Hollywood-lite version of Cannes
Outside of the competition, there will be a surprising amount of football in the high temple of French cinema, with documentaries about legendary forward Eric Cantona and the England-Argentina 1986 World Cup match featuring Diego Maradona’s infamous handball.
The 79th edition of Cannes is seeing American A-listers less prominent than in recent history, although Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart are set to star in Paris-set Full Fill by French director Quentin Dupuis.
Recalling the world premieres of the final versions of Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible in previous editions, Frémaux said, “The United States will be represented. The (Hollywood) studios a little less.”
Some industry insiders have speculated that major Hollywood companies are turning away from European festivals as platforms for film premieres, preferring their own social media-led launches as a less risky alternative.
American film legend John Travolta will bring some serious stardust to Cannes, however, when he presents his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, about a young boy’s journey through the “golden age of aviation.”
Hollywood and Broadway legend Barbra Streisand will also be on Cannes’ famous waterfront boulevard to receive the festival’s honorary Palme d’Or, along with New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
American director Steven Soderbergh will present a documentary on John Lennon titled The Last Interview.
the politics of it all
At last year’s Cannes, as at other European festivals in Berlin and Venice in previous years, there was a heated debate over whether the industry and organizers should take a tougher stance on Israel’s destruction of Gaza.
Hundreds of film personalities, including Schindler’s List actors Ralph Fiennes and Richard Gere, condemned the “genocide” in the area in an open letter released on the eve of the event.
The Berlin Film Festival came to the center of controversy in February when jury president Wim Wenders, when asked about the German government’s support for Israel, replied: “We can’t really enter the field of politics.”
“People often say Cannes is political when films are political, when filmmakers are political,” Frémaux told AFP on Thursday, adding that in his view art is “often political”.
He said the festival needed to remain neutral and “not take a political stance”.
South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy” and No Other Choice) will head the competition jury this year. The 2025 edition will award the top prize to dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his satirical thriller It Was Just an Accident.