10 takeaways from the 78th Cannes Film Festival

RTÉ News​

27-05-2025

There are years when Cannes feels like a ritual - and then there was this year, when the Croisette bristles with the kind of energy one can't manufacture, w rites Darragh Leen: red carpet risks, jaw-dropping debuts, and the comforting return of cinema that actually says something.
Here are ten takeaways from the 2025 festival...
1. Trump's film tariffs spoil the party
Just when the festival had reclaimed its post-pandemic, post-industry strikes buoyancy, US president Donald Trump cast an economic shadow over the Riviera. His proposed plan to impose tariffs on films made outside the US sent a jolt through the Marché. Tensions simmered among hesitant distributors and producers. If imposed, the tariffs could damage transatlantic co-productions and the already-fragile indie distribution pipeline. It wasn't the kind of drama Cannes was hoping for, but it certainly made for an anxious undercurrent. The stars had their say, as well. Robert De Niro called Trump the 'philistine' president while Richard Linklater scoffed at the tariff proposition exclaiming "That's not gonna happen right? That guy changes his mind like 50 times in one day".
Robert De Niro shared a strong message against Donald Trump's tariff policies on art and cinema. #cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/M8DXBlvH9x
— Brut America (@brutamerica) May 13, 2025
2. Cannes bans red carpet nudity
This year's red carpet came with another new set of rules. The festival decided to ban voluminous outfits and, most notably, nudity of any kind. Organizers insisted it was 'for decency reasons', but others pointed out that Cannes has become as much of a platform for fashion statements and performance art as an exhibition of cinema. Of course, there were still flourishes of defiance. Eva Longoria, Halle Berry and Heidi Klum all showed up in billowing attire while a few - including Miss Universe 2016, Iris Mittenaere - were in more of, let's say, a state of nature. The strict posture felt like an overcorrection but Cannes thrives on controlled chaos and on the red carpet rules are there to be broken.
3. Father-daughter dramas take the spotlight
Some years are defined by form, others by theme. This year, the thematic clarion that called out was the complicated, often tender dynamic between fathers and daughters. Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value led the pack - a meditation on memory and reconciliation, anchored by show stopping performances. Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme explores the strained relationship between wealthy businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda and his daughter Liesl, a nun. Korda appoints Liesl as sole heir to his estate, but this is as much a desperate attempt at winning her forgiveness as a shrewd business decision. Meanwhile, in Sirat, a father, driven by unconditional love, searches frantically for his daughter who disappears at a desert rave in Morocco. Queer Palm winner The Little Sister subverted the trope entirely, with the father's absence felt as a haunting void. In each case, we received truly affecting meditations on regret.
4. The preposterous standing ovations persist
If applause was currency, Cannes could fund its own space program. The ritual of the standing ovation remains one of the festival's more absurd traditions - timed, documented, and weaponised for marketing. Trier's Sentimental Value film got 19 minutes, the third longest ever at Cannes. Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident clocked 12. Ethan Coen's Honey Don't! somehow scraped six and a half. Do they mean anything? Not really. A warm four-minute ovation often says more than an arm-cramping 15. But Cannes, bless it, will never give up its cherished barometer of emotional excess.
5. Panahi's Palme makes It six for Neon
Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, a cerebral portrait of fragmented memory in modern Iran, earned the Palme d'Or - marking film distribution company Neon's sixth consecutive win. It's not just an impressive feat; it's starting to feel like a monopoly. Neon's grip on the Palme has sparked rumours about a curation bias, but the quality of their choices remains beyond reproach. If you're betting on Cannes gold, Neon is the safest horse in the race.
6. MUBI emerges as a Cannes power player
That said, If there was a breakout distributor this year, it wasn't Netflix or Amazon, but MUBI. What began as a streaming service for curious cinephiles has evolved impressively into a production powerhouse - with taste. They walked away from Cannes with multiple aquisitions under their belt in Competition, not to mention the statement $24m purchase of Lynne Ramsay's Die My Love (starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson) as well as buzzy acquisitions like Mascha Schilinski's enigmatic Sound of Falling and Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value. The company's brand of artful, politically alert cinema now rivals the prestige of A24 - only with less merchandise. Cannes has officially found a new heavyweight.
7. Actor-turned-director debuts shine bright
There are regularly directorial debuts from actors that feel like vanity projects. Not this year. Kristen Stewart's The Chronology of Water introduced the former Twilight star as a filmmaking talent to watch while Harris Dickinson stunned with Urchin, a raw, deeply personal drama about homelessness and masculinity on the fringes of society. Scarlett Johansson's Eleanor the Great was a tender portrait of aging and friendship. It's not that actors can't direct, it's just rare that they do so with such precision and humility.
8. Eddington brings back bad memories
Ari Aster's Eddington, a Covid-era quasi-Western set in a dustbowl New Mexico town, was far and away the most divisive film of Cannes' 78th renewal. It captures a harrowing time in very recent history and for some, that struck too close to home. The mere sight of a face mask was enough to send audience members home upset. Aster has garnered a reputation for making challenging, elliptical horror and, although it's had its champions, the reaction to Eddington has been mainly one of confusion and frustration. Either way, it left a mark, but not always the kind you'd hope for.
9. Paul Mescal delivers again, but History of Sound falls flat
Mescal mania continues. With his performance in The History of Sound, the Kildare actor delivered another masterclass in restrained grief. Unfortunately, the much-hyped queer period drama fell flat. Despite an arresting premise - two young men recording folk songs across wartime America - the film never quite gelled and always felt a little too timid for its own good. Mescal and co-star Josh O'Connor have crackling chemistry, no doubt, but the film is afraid to push the boundaries and ends up coming off as uninspired. Still, one mis-step doesn't dull Mescal's ascent. He remains the real deal.
10. The best Cannes in years?
Let's not bury the lede. This was one of the strongest Cannes slates in years. There wasn't a clear dud to speak of. Even the failures were noble. From Chinese sci-fi epics scored by M83 to Brazilian political thrillers, there was a sense that Cannes had found its taste again. It should be noted that Dublin and London-based film company Element Pictures won two awards, for the second year running, for a pair of notable feature debuts - Akinola Davies Jr.'s My Father's Shadow, and Harry Lighton's Pillion. No empty provocation. No gimmickry for gimmickry's sake. Just bold, sincere, frequently strange cinema.