New films by Polish filmmaker Pawe艂 Pawlikowski, Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Spain鈥檚 Pedro Almodovar will premiere at the next month.
Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris.
Cannes鈥� most sought-after slots are in its competition lineup. This year, 21 films will vie for the Palme d鈥橭r. That includes 鈥淔atherland,鈥� a Cold War drama starring Sandra H眉ller by Pawlikowski (鈥淚da,鈥� ); 鈥淎ll of a Sudden,鈥� the French language debut for Hamaguchi ( ); and Almodovar鈥檚 鈥淏itter Christmas,鈥� which has already opened in Spain.
Cannes is so far light on Hollywood releases and American filmmakers. One exception in competition is Ira Sachs’ 鈥淭he Man I Love,鈥� a New York tale starring Rami Malek set during the 1980s AIDS crisis. In the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Jane Schoenbrun will unveil their follow-up to : 鈥淭eenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,鈥� about the making of a slasher movie. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
Previous Palme d鈥橭r winners will be represented
A number of former Palme winners are in the mix. That includes Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu鈥檚 Norway-set 鈥淔jord,鈥� starring the recently Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. Mungiu鈥檚 鈥�4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days鈥� won the Palme in 2007.
Also returning is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose 2018 drama 鈥淪hoplifters鈥� . He鈥檒l debut the sci-fi 鈥淪heep in the Box,鈥� about a grieving couple in the near future who bring home a humanoid boy as their son.
The specialty distributor Neon has already boarded 鈥淔jord,鈥� 鈥淪heep in the Box鈥� and 鈥淎ll of a Sudden,鈥� giving it a chance to extend its historic record of six Palme winners in a row. Last year, the Neon release 鈥淚t Was Just an Accident,鈥� by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi,
Neon is also behind an out of competition selection in 鈥淗er Private Hell鈥� by Nicolas Winding Refn, the 鈥淒rive鈥� filmmaker. A thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, it’s Refn’s first feature film since
Festival defends the 鈥榓bility to dream and think freely鈥�
The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is also back in the Cannes competition lineup with 鈥淢inotaur.鈥� Zvyagintsev’s last two films, 鈥淟oveless鈥� and 鈥淟eviathan,鈥� both debuted at Cannes and went on to land Oscar nominations.
Other competition entries include films by Asghar Farhadi (鈥淧arallel Stories鈥�), Lukas Dhont (鈥淐oward鈥�) and Lazlo Nemes (鈥淢oulin鈥�).
Thierry Fremaux, Cannes鈥� artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference alongside festival president Iris Knobloch. Fremaux said that 2,541 feature films were submitted for inclusion. Fremaux estimated that Thursday’s announcement encompassed 95% of the selection, so a handful more films will be announced in the coming weeks.
鈥淚n this moment, bringing together films and artists from around the world is not a luxury, it鈥檚 a necessity,鈥� Knobloch said. 鈥淏ecause when the world darkens, we lose our bearings. Showcasing films from all horizons is not a trivial act. It is defending what is most precious to humanity, its ability to dream and think freely.鈥�
Cannes is coming off a 2025 festival that produced a number of Oscar contenders, including two best-picture nominees in and Kleber Mendon莽a Filho鈥檚 This year鈥檚 Cannes appears well positioned to continue the festival鈥檚 stature as the global launching pad of many of the year鈥檚 best international films, some of which are bound to show up at next year鈥檚 Oscars.
Hollywood studios are less present at Cannes this year
But Hollywood studios appear to be a no-show. Fremaux has said not to expect red carpet premieres like or 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� The Final Reckoning鈥� 鈥� both of which made splashy premieres in recent years. This year, Cannes announced ahead of the Paris news conference that John Travolta’s directorial debut 鈥淧ropeller One-Way Night Coach鈥� will debut in the Cannes Premiere section.
鈥淭he United States will be present, but the studios will be a bit less so,鈥� Fremaux said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to know that when studios are less present at Cannes, it means they are generally less present with the type of cinema that used to allow them to thrive.鈥�
Two prominent American directors will debut documentaries in special screenings: Steven Soderbergh with 鈥淛ohn Lennon: The Last Interview鈥� and Ron Howard with 鈥淎vedon,鈥� about the photographer Richard Avedon.
Opening the festival, out of competition, is the 1920s French film 鈥淭he Electric Kiss.鈥� Cannes requires its opening movie to release the same week in French cinemas. And entry to its prestigious competition lineup requires theatrical distribution, a stipulation that 鈥� given France鈥檚 laws guarding theatrical windows 鈥� has excluded Netflix movies and other streaming titles since 2017.
This year, the Korean filmmaker that will decide the Palme. And a pair of honorary Palmes will be handed out, to Barbra Streisand and to Peter Jackson.
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