The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is poised to be another standout event, featuring some of this year’s most anticipated films, including Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, and Ari Aster’s Eddington, all set to premiere on the Croisette.
Cannes delegate general Thierry Frémaux and festival president Iris Knobloch revealed this year’s official lineup during a press conference held Thursday in Paris. The Dardenne brothers, two-time Palme d’Or winners, return with their latest project, The Young Mother’s Home, a new take on Belgian social realism. Also in competition is South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus (Moffie), debuting with the WWI gay romantic drama The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. France’s own Dominik Moll also joins with Dossier 137, a classic crime drama.
Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or in 2021 for her divisive body horror hit Titane, is back with Alpha, a thriller set in the 1980s about an 11-year-old girl ostracized by her classmates after rumors of a mysterious disease spread.
Meanwhile, Spike Lee returns to Cannes, this time out of competition. While Frémaux did not name him directly, Lee confirmed via social media that his new film, Highest 2 Lowest — starring Denzel Washington and adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low — will premiere on May 19.
U.S. distributor Neon looks to continue its incredible five-year Palme d’Or winning streak — with past titles like Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy of a Fall, and Anora — by presenting both Alpha and Joachim Trier’s new film, Sentimental Value. The competition slate also includes Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, an art-heist thriller set during the Vietnam War, and Jafar Panahi’s A Simple Accident, marking the Iranian director’s return to the Croisette.
The worst-kept secret of the season was finally confirmed: Tom Cruise will be back at Cannes for the world premiere of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which screens out of competition ahead of its May 23 global release. Other titles in this section include Vie Privée, starring Jodie Foster and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski; the music doc Bono: Stories of Surrender by Andrew Dominik; Fatih Akin’s Amrum, with Diane Kruger; Sebastián Lelio’s feminist musical The Wave; and The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele, from Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov.
The Un Certain Regard sidebar features a strong slate of directorial debuts, including Eleanor the Great, the first film directed by Scarlett Johansson and starring June Squibb; Harris Dickinson’s Urchin, which explores homelessness in London; and My Father’s Shadow, the highly anticipated debut of British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies, featuring Sope Dìrísù.
Frémaux confirmed that 2,909 films were considered for this year’s selection — an all-time record.
Cannes reaffirmed its role as the world’s premier film festival last year, with its 2024 selection earning 31 Oscar nominations and nine Academy Award wins. Anora, last year’s Palme d’Or winner, went on to take Best Picture at the Oscars. Other breakout titles included Emilia Pérez, The Substance, and the animated feature Flow.
This year’s festival will open with Partir un Jour, a debut from Amélie Bonnin, screening out of competition.
Juliette Binoche will preside as president of the jury, while Robert De Niro is set to receive an honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement.
COMPETITION
Alpha, Julie Ducournau
Dossier 137, Dominik Moll
The Eagles of the Republic, Tarik Saleh
Eddington, Ari Aster
Fuori, Mario Martone
The History of Sound, Oliver Hermanus
La Petite Derniere, Hafsia Herzi
The Mastermind, Kelly Reichardt
Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater
The Phoenician Scheme, Wes Anderson
Renoir, Chie Hayakawa
Romeria, Carla Simone
The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier
A Simple Accident, Jafar Panahi
Sirat, Oliver Laxe
Sound of Falling, Mascha Schilinksi
Two Prosecutors, Sergei Loznitsa
Young Mothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Un Certain Regard
Aisha Can’t Fly Away, Morad Mostafa
Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson
Heads or Tails?, Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis
Homebound, Neeraj Ghaywan
Karavan, Zuzana Kirchnerová
L’inconnu de la Grande Arche, Stéphane Demoustier
The Last One for the Road, Francesco Sossai
Meteors, Hubert Charuel
My Father’s Shadow, Akinola Davies Jr
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, Diego Céspedes
Once Upon A Time In Gaza, Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser
A Pale View of the Hills, Kei Ishikawa
Pillion, Harry Lighton
The Plague, Charlie Polinger
Promised Sky, Erige Sehiri
Urchin, Harris Dickinson
Out of Competition
Colours of Time, Cedric Klapisch
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Christopher McQuarrie
Partir un jour, Amélie Bonnin (opening film)
The Richest Woman in the World, Thierry Klifa
Vie Privée, Rebecca Zlotowski
Special Screenings
Bono: Stories of Surrender, Andrew Dominik
The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol, Sylvain Chomet
Tell Her I Love Her, Romane Bohringer
Midnight Screenings
Dalloway, Yann Gozlan
Exit 8, Kawamura Genki
Songs of the Neon Night, Juno Mak
Cannes Premiere
Amrum, Fatih Akin
Connemara, Alex Lutz
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, Kirill Serebrennikov
Orwell: 2+2 =5, Raoul Peck
Splitsville, Michael Angelo Covino
The Wave, Sebastián Lelio
