The lineup for the 2025 Cannes Film Festival was unveiled Thursday morning, and includes a mix of names familiar to the competition alongside some relative newcomers.
In all, 19 films were announced to compete in the 78th edition of the festival, though oftentimes festival organizers add an extra title or two prior to the opening of the ceremony in May.
Among the competing films are new titles from directors Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Kelly Reichardt and Ari Aster. Six of the films in the lineup are directed by women, one shy of the record of seven set two years ago.
Full list of titles competing at Cannes unveiled
- “The Phoenician Scheme” (Wes Anderson)
- “Eddington” (Ari Aster)
- “Young Mothers” (Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne)
- “Alpha,” (Julia Ducournau)
- “Renoir” (Hayakawa Chie)
- “The History of Sound” (Oliver Hermanus)
- “La Petite Dernière” (Hafsia Herzi)
- “Sirat” (Oliver Laxe)
- “Nouvelle Vague” (Richard Linklater)
- “Two Prosecutors” (Sergei Loznitsa)
- “Fuori” (Mario Martone)
- “The Secret Agent” (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
- “Dossier 137” (Dominik Moll)
- “Un Simple Accident” (Jafar Panahi)
- “The Mastermind,” (Kelly Reichardt)
- “Aigles of the Republic” (Tarik Saleh)
- “Sound of Falling” (Mascha Schilinski)
- “Romería” (Carla Simón)
- “Sentimental Value” (Joachim Trier)
It was also announced that Leave One Day” (“Partir un Jour”), directed by Amélie Bonnin, would be the official opening night selection.
Many film enthusiasts and industry figureheads regard the annual awarding of the Palme d’Or to be not only among the highest honors for artistic achievement in the world of film, but also an unofficial start to the ensuing year’s awards season, especially as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – the organization who hands out Oscars every spring – continues to court a more international voting body.
In recent years, films that were launched at Cannes have increasingly found themselves in the Oscar hunt. In just the past half dozen years, two Palme d’Or winners – Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” and Sean Baker’s “Anora” – have also landed the Oscar for best picture. Prior to that, only 1955’s “Marty” and 1945’s “The Lost Weekend” managed to achieve the feat of winning both of those top prizes.
A list of recent Palme winners that went on to at least be nominated for the best picture Oscar includes Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023), Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” (2022), Michael Haneke’s “Amour” (2012) and Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” (2011). Last year’s roster of Oscar contenders included more than a couple titles that arrived at Cannes first, including “The Substance,” “Emilia Pérez” and “The Apprentice.”
Of the filmmakers in competition this year, Julia Ducournau and the Dardennes brothers have won the Palme d’Or in previous festivals, Ducournau for “Titane” and the Dardennes for both “Rosetta” and “L’Enfant.” The Dardennes are among a small group of filmmakers who have won twice.
Earlier this week, festival organizers confirmed that Tom Cruise will return to the Croisette with “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning,” though they said that film would be screening out of competition. Cruise was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or in 2022 when his film “Top Gun: Maverick” screened at that year’s Cannes festival.
Organizers also announced that actor Robert De Niro will be awarded an honorary Palme d’Or during the opening ceremony.
This year’s festival runs from May 13 to 24.
