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Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
From Cannes 2025: Five standout films you should watch next
With the Cannes Film Festival acting as a very early awards season indicator, these are the most acclaimed and notable films to put on your Must Watch List in 2025. The Cannes Film Festival is about more than Riviera-side schmoozing, 15-minute standing ovations and their booing flipside (plus the new addition of lengthy blackouts). The iconic film festival is an early indicator of potential award season contenders. Last year alone, Anora, which took home the festival's highest honour, the Palme d'Or, went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Fellow Oscar winners The Substance, controversial Emilia Pérez, and Animated Feature upset Flow all premiered at Cannes. Notably, before that, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite made the journey from Palme d'Or to Academy Award in 2019-2020, while legal drama-mystery Anatomy of a Fall picked up Best Original Screenplay at several awards ceremonies following its 2023 Palme d'Or win. The point is that it pays to keep an eye on what stands out at Cannes, whether competing (see the full 2025 winner's list here) or simply screening. These are the premieres from the 78th Festival de Cannes that you should keep a lookout for at local cinemas and film festivals in the coming months. Anti-authoritarianism earns accolades Film has always been a powerful medium to critique social and political injustice, and this year the Cannes main competition jury seemed eager to reward those movies vocal about power abuse and despotism. Case in point: the 2025 Palme d'Or went to It Was Just an Accident, from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who has repeatedly been hit with filmmaking bans, travel restrictions and prison sentences from his country's authorities. Acclaim for It Was Just an Accident doesn't appear to be performative, though. Narratively straightforward, accessible, but also thought-provoking, the film sees an apparent everyman kidnapped by people who suspect that he may have been their prison torturer. Can they overrule their doubts and take revenge? Honourable mention: The only film to earn two awards at Cannes this year, The Secret Agent also features anti-totalitarian themes. Scoring Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Best Actor for Narcos' Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent is a genre-hopping Brazilian thriller that explores how Carnival was used as a front in the 1970s to make the then-military dictatorship's opponents disappear. The latest auteur efforts For decades, the Cannes Film Festival has been catnip for the world's most acclaimed filmmakers. This year was no different, with Wes Anderson debuting his latest quirky all-star effort, The Phoenician Scheme, a few days before it comes to US cinemas on 30 May. Benicio del Toro plays a 1950s industrialist who, in the middle of a spate of assassination attempts, names his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton), a nun, as his heir. The good news is that if you found Anderson's last few efforts over-styled and underwhelming, The Phoenician Scheme is apparently a return to enjoyable form. Largely thanks to Threapleton. Honourable mention: Spike Lee and Denzel Washington reunite for the first time in almost 20 years for Highest 2 Lowest, an English-language reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low. Washington plays a successful New York City record producer forced into a ransom scenario that tests his morals. The film is already lined up for an Apple TV+ debut on 5 September. Queer experience on screens The Cannes Film Festival is always welcoming of LGBT+ content, even having an independent Queer Palm accolade for films that excel in their depiction of non cishet experience. There were several contenders for the award in 2025 (it eventually went to The Little Sister), but the most intriguing is the rule-bending romance Pillion. Described as a gay version of Babygirl, this directorial debut from Harry Lighton sees Harry Potter's Harry Melling enter into a sub/dom relationship with Alexander Skarsgård's aloof biker. It's kinky but also tender in its exploration of consensual power dynamics within a relationship. Honourable mention: South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus, who previously made the likes of Moffie and Queer Palm winner Beauty (AKA Skoonheid), debuted historical gay romance The History of Sound at Cannes this year. Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor star as two men who connect over their mission to record American folk music circa World War I. The comparisons to Brokeback Mountain are there by default. A quick second shout-out also must go to Honey Don't!, a consciously B-grade detective comedy from Ethan Coen, which sees Margaret Qualley's lesbian private investigator hook up with Aubrey Plaza's cop. Charlie Day and Chris Evans also star. Of families and generations It's been called Arthouse with a capital A, but historical drama Sound of Falling, from German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski, emerges from Cannes heralded as something boldly original due to its storytelling approach – which dips into and interweaves the lives of four girls on a farm in northern Germany over the course of a century. It turns out that women's experience doesn't really change, with trauma having a way of seeping through time. Considered a grim watch, Sound of Falling was a tied winner of the Jury Prize (alongside Sirat), which is typically bestowed on up-and-coming filmmakers seen as driving the industry forward creatively. Honourable mention: The Grand Prize is Cannes's second highest honour and that went this year to Sentimental Value, from festival favourite Joachim Trier. Could this Norwegian drama, about the complex relationship between sisters, and daughters and fathers, finally earn Stellan Skarsgård an Oscar nomination? Also worthy of a Must Watch List spot is My Father's Shadow, the first ever Nigerian film to make it onto the festival's Official Selection. In his feature debut, British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr. has told a semi-autobiographical tale with his brother Wale, set against the backdrop of the 1993 Nigerian election. Siblings spend a day with their estranged father (Sope Dirisu) and learn surprising things. The film earned a Camera d'Or Special Mention. One to talk about Finally, if you're looking for the most divisive movie release of Cannes 2025, that dubious honour has to go to Eddington, the latest from Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid filmmaker Ari Aster. Is it an escalating parody of American divisiveness? Does it actually harbour MAGA leanings as it jeers at mask mandates and other liberal ideas? With a wider release set for July, you'll have to watch this moody modern Western, which pits Joaquin Phoenix's small-town sheriff against Pedro Pascal's mayor in the early days of the Covid pandemic, with their friends and neighbours taking sides, and things turning violent. DM
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I attended Cannes Film Festival for the 1st time. These are the movies I'd tell you to see — and skip — when they arrive in theaters.
I didn't expect to spend most of my time at the Cannes Film Festival in the beautiful French Riviera with my eyes glued to my phone, furiously refreshing the ticketing pages to get a coveted seat at a screening, but it paid off. I saw 11 movies over the course of six days. Over the last few years, Cannes has become a major hot spot for filmmakers hoping to have their movies considered for the Oscars. In 2024, it gave us Best Picture winner Anora, buzzed-about box office shocker The Substance and the awards season villain of the century, Emilia Pérez. This year, the festival's top prize (the Palme d'Or) went to It Was Just an Accident, with other highly anticipated films like The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirât and Sound of Falling nabbing other accolades. This might be the last time you hear about those titles until January, but trust me, they'll be back for awards season in full force. Often at festivals, movies screened for cinephiles on the ground never make it to a wider audience. But Cannes is now the battleground for trendy film distributors hoping to get movie lovers talking for the rest of the year and during awards season. Many of the movies I saw will be coming soon, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're all snatched up in the next few weeks for theatergoers' viewing pleasure. I left after the first week of screenings, so I was crushed to miss out on buzzy flicks like Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent and It Was Just an Accident. The ones I did get to see have been haunting me in the best way, though. Here are my favorites from the festival — and the ones I've already forgotten. Jennifer Lawrence is already an Oscar winner and a legend, but her brief time away from the spotlight was clearly refreshing because she turns this sad story about how a woman becomes increasingly unhinged after having a baby into a riveting masterpiece. It's visually stunning, and Robert Pattinson is delightfully pathetic, but Lawrence steals every scene. It sold for a whopping $24 million, and if Lawrence doesn't get an Oscar nod for this one, I'll eat my Cannes-branded tote bag. I had a particularly intense Mission: Impossible screening complete with the cast and my first-ever standing ovation, which went on for 7.5 minutes, but the movie is objectively big, loud and fantastic even without all of the pageantry of a premiere. The alleged final movie of the franchise is in theaters now, so you won't have to wait to see it, but try to go IMAX if you can! You'll want to see Tom Cruise defying gravity and logic in the sanctuary of a big-screen theater, because it's truly a religious experience. All you need to know about Sirât is that a father goes with his son to find his missing daughter at a rave, and it gets worse from there. The movie has an infectious score, and the plot is so jaw-droppingly unsettling and unexpected from start to finish that I was white-knuckling my seat. Several people walked out of my screening, and when it ended, I ranted to my husband for five minutes straight about how upsetting it was. The next morning, I woke up realizing I had seen a masterpiece. Thank goodness Neon is bringing it to theaters. I was particularly invested in Eddington because I spent hours standing in line to get a glimpse of its star-studded cast members like Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler, but the COVID-era Western satire fell flat for a lot of critics. When my screening ended, a man in front of me stood up, shouted 'Boo!' and briskly exited the theater. It might be a little too soon for anyone to fully appreciate the uncanniness of pandemic life onscreen, but the polarizing movie comes to theaters July 18 regardless. Plenty of actors premiered their directorial debuts at Cannes this year: Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson all had buzzy screenings. But I was lucky to see Urchin, which Babygirl standout Dickinson wrote and directed, as my final movie of the festival. I loved how evident it was in the film that Dickinson's acting talent comes from his deep emotional intelligence. His directing elevated what could have been a depressing film about a man struggling to break out of the cycle of addiction and homelessness into a poignant tale that will haunt me. Nouvelle Vague, or New Wave, is Richard Linklater's French-language, black-and-white ode to director Jean-Luc Godard. It recreates the filming of Godard's most iconic movie, Breathless, in 1959, and all the antics that ensued when the chaotic director pieced together a masterpiece based solely on vibes. That might sound a little pretentious and inaccessible to most audiences, and maybe it is, but this was Cannes, baby! There was so much witty banter and so many references to influential filmmakers that my heart turned into a glowing ball of cinephilic pride. It felt like being in a college film class again. It's coming to Netflix, so you can have that feeling in your own living room. If you've seen a Wes Anderson movie before, you'll be familiar with what goes down here: Quirky characters, elaborate set pieces and a series of ultra-famous faces. Benicio del Toro stars as a businessman who taps his nun daughter (newcomer Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir, but assassins and business rivals — including Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, who they must defeat in a basketball game — cause trouble for them along the way. Michael Cera is particularly delightful in his role. It's just a blast. I was expecting a slow and sweet romantic drama to be Cannes's opening night movie, but I wasn't prepared for it to be a musical. The film follows a celebrity chef who must return to her hometown after a family emergency and reconnects with an old crush. It was a lot like The Bear, but with singing. One thing that pervaded my jet-lagged mind during the screening, though, was how much I loved the main character's haircut. Should I get bangs? Though I came to Cannes hoping to see controversy and critical accalaim, I was quietly moved by The Little Sister, which stars Nadia Melliti in her first-ever role as a Muslim teenager secretively coming to terms with her queer identity. The movie demands patience and attention — a tall order for a long day of screenings — but delivers with one particularly gorgeous scene between the protagonist and her mother in which not much is said directly. I won't spoil it, but I promise it's worth it, and Melliti unexpectedly won Cannes's Best Actress prize for it. Case 137 is about a detective investigating an act of violence by police officers — a timely premise that I have, unfortunately, seen played out on nearly every season of Law and Order in a tight 40 minutes. What I will remember far longer than anything that happened in the movie, though, is the fact that one of its stars was banned from walking the red carpet at the premiere because of rape allegations against him. It was the first ban of its kind at Cannes, and it sparked quite a bit of discourse on the Croisette. I was low on energy and worried about time when I slipped into the premiere screening of this German-language film about girls growing up in the same farmhouse over the span of 100 years. How many times could I watch generational trauma unfold without getting bored and worn down? Endless, apparently. Its stars, who I had never heard of, delivered performances I'll never forget, and the plot went places I'd never think to go. The standing ovation was cut short for time — Mission: Impossible premiered after this one — but Sound of Falling was the best of the festival for me. I may give it my own standing ovation when it comes to theaters stateside.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I attended Cannes Film Festival for the 1st time. These are the movies I'd tell you to see — and skip — when they arrive in theaters.
I didn't expect to spend most of my time at the Cannes Film Festival in the beautiful French Riviera with my eyes glued to my phone, furiously refreshing the ticketing pages to get a coveted seat at a screening, but it paid off. I saw 11 movies over the course of six days. Over the last few years, Cannes has become a major hot spot for filmmakers hoping to have their movies considered for the Oscars. In 2024, it gave us Best Picture winner Anora, buzzed-about box office shocker The Substance and the awards season villain of the century, Emilia Pérez. This year, the festival's top prize (the Palme d'Or) went to It Was Just an Accident, with other highly anticipated films like The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirât and Sound of Falling nabbing other accolades. This might be the last time you hear about those titles until January, but trust me, they'll be back for awards season in full force. Often at festivals, movies screened for cinephiles on the ground never make it to a wider audience. But Cannes is now the battleground for trendy film distributors hoping to get movie lovers talking for the rest of the year and during awards season. Many of the movies I saw will be coming soon, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're all snatched up in the next few weeks for theatergoers' viewing pleasure. I left after the first week of screenings, so I was crushed to miss out on buzzy flicks like Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent and It Was Just an Accident. The ones I did get to see have been haunting me in the best way, though. Here are my favorites from the festival — and the ones I've already forgotten. Jennifer Lawrence is already an Oscar winner and a legend, but her brief time away from the spotlight was clearly refreshing because she turns this sad story about how a woman becomes increasingly unhinged after having a baby into a riveting masterpiece. It's visually stunning, and Robert Pattinson is delightfully pathetic, but Lawrence steals every scene. It sold for a whopping $24 million, and if Lawrence doesn't get an Oscar nod for this one, I'll eat my Cannes-branded tote bag. I had a particularly intense Mission: Impossible screening complete with the cast and my first-ever standing ovation, which went on for 7.5 minutes, but the movie is objectively big, loud and fantastic even without all of the pageantry of a premiere. The alleged final movie of the franchise is in theaters now, so you won't have to wait to see it, but try to go IMAX if you can! You'll want to see Tom Cruise defying gravity and logic in the sanctuary of a big-screen theater, because it's truly a religious experience. All you need to know about Sirât is that a father goes with his son to find his missing daughter at a rave, and it gets worse from there. The movie has an infectious score, and the plot is so jaw-droppingly unsettling and unexpected from start to finish that I was white-knuckling my seat. Several people walked out of my screening, and when it ended, I ranted to my husband for five minutes straight about how upsetting it was. The next morning, I woke up realizing I had seen a masterpiece. Thank goodness Neon is bringing it to theaters. I was particularly invested in Eddington because I spent hours standing in line to get a glimpse of its star-studded cast members like Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler, but the COVID-era Western satire fell flat for a lot of critics. When my screening ended, a man in front of me stood up, shouted 'Boo!' and briskly exited the theater. It might be a little too soon for anyone to fully appreciate the uncanniness of pandemic life onscreen, but the polarizing movie comes to theaters July 18 regardless. Plenty of actors premiered their directorial debuts at Cannes this year: Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson all had buzzy screenings. But I was lucky to see Urchin, which Babygirl standout Dickinson wrote and directed, as my final movie of the festival. I loved how evident it was in the film that Dickinson's acting talent comes from his deep emotional intelligence. His directing elevated what could have been a depressing film about a man struggling to break out of the cycle of addiction and homelessness into a poignant tale that will haunt me. Nouvelle Vague, or New Wave, is Richard Linklater's French-language, black-and-white ode to director Jean-Luc Godard. It recreates the filming of Godard's most iconic movie, Breathless, in 1959, and all the antics that ensued when the chaotic director pieced together a masterpiece based solely on vibes. That might sound a little pretentious and inaccessible to most audiences, and maybe it is, but this was Cannes, baby! There was so much witty banter and so many references to influential filmmakers that my heart turned into a glowing ball of cinephilic pride. It felt like being in a college film class again. It's coming to Netflix, so you can have that feeling in your own living room. If you've seen a Wes Anderson movie before, you'll be familiar with what goes down here: Quirky characters, elaborate set pieces and a series of ultra-famous faces. Benicio del Toro stars as a businessman who taps his nun daughter (newcomer Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir, but assassins and business rivals — including Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, who they must defeat in a basketball game — cause trouble for them along the way. Michael Cera is particularly delightful in his role. It's just a blast. I was expecting a slow and sweet romantic drama to be Cannes's opening night movie, but I wasn't prepared for it to be a musical. The film follows a celebrity chef who must return to her hometown after a family emergency and reconnects with an old crush. It was a lot like The Bear, but with singing. One thing that pervaded my jet-lagged mind during the screening, though, was how much I loved the main character's haircut. Should I get bangs? Though I came to Cannes hoping to see controversy and critical accalaim, I was quietly moved by The Little Sister, which stars Nadia Melliti in her first-ever role as a Muslim teenager secretively coming to terms with her queer identity. The movie demands patience and attention — a tall order for a long day of screenings — but delivers with one particularly gorgeous scene between the protagonist and her mother in which not much is said directly. I won't spoil it, but I promise it's worth it, and Melliti unexpectedly won Cannes's Best Actress prize for it. Case 137 is about a detective investigating an act of violence by police officers — a timely premise that I have, unfortunately, seen played out on nearly every season of Law and Order in a tight 40 minutes. What I will remember far longer than anything that happened in the movie, though, is the fact that one of its stars was banned from walking the red carpet at the premiere because of rape allegations against him. It was the first ban of its kind at Cannes, and it sparked quite a bit of discourse on the Croisette. I was low on energy and worried about time when I slipped into the premiere screening of this German-language film about girls growing up in the same farmhouse over the span of 100 years. How many times could I watch generational trauma unfold without getting bored and worn down? Endless, apparently. Its stars, who I had never heard of, delivered performances I'll never forget, and the plot went places I'd never think to go. The standing ovation was cut short for time — Mission: Impossible premiered after this one — but Sound of Falling was the best of the festival for me. I may give it my own standing ovation when it comes to theaters stateside.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Cannes: It Was Just An Accident Bags Palme D'Or. Check Out Full List Of Winners
Cannes: Iranian director Jafar Panahi accepted the Palme d'Or for "It Was Just an Accident," a film directly inspired by his time in prison at the 78th Cannes Film Festival. Panahi's film is filled with equal parts absurdist humour and rage, following five characters who believe they have identified the prosecutor who tortured them during their own detention, but because they were all blindfolded in jail, no one is confident that their captor is the same man. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Festival de Cannes (@festivaldecannes) The awards ceremony unfolded more or less as planned on a turbulent last day for the otherwise calm event, which was hit with a power blackout mid-morning -- a massive regional outage that disrupted screenings and caused general confusion among attendees. Fortunately, the festival had backup generators running, ensuring that the show would go on at the Palais, where jury president Juliette Binoche and eight other film artists took the stage to present their awards, reported Variety. Neon also co-produced the Grand Prix winner, Norwegian director Joachim Trier's layered family drama "Sentimental Value," about a difficult filmmaker attempting to reconcile with his estranged daughter by casting her in his most personal film to date -- an offer she can't help but interpret as the man's most egotistical gesture yet. Accepting the award, Trier thanked Cannes for fostering a place "where we can identify with each other in contemplation, in empathy," adding, "I don't think art is just something you do for purpose or understanding. We don't know why we do it. It's something I watch my small children do. They sing and dance before they can speak. But it's another language, it could be a language of unification." "Little Sister" star Nadia Melliti won the best actress prize. Best actor honours went to Wagner Moura for "The Secret Agent," in which he plays a father who disguises his identity in an attempt to evade assassination during Brazil's military dictatorship. Kleber Mendonca Filho won best director for the same film, as per the outlet. Alice Rohrwacher presented the Camera d'Or trophy for first feature to "The President's Cake" director Hasan Hadi, who accepted the first award ever presented to an Iraqi film in Cannes, reported Variety. In addition to Binoche, this year's majority-female jury included Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani, American stars Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong, South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo, Mexican director Carlos Reygadas and Congolese filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi. Full list of prizes below. COMPETITION Palme d'Or: "It Was Just an Accident," Jafar Panahi Grand Prix: "Sentimental Value," Joachim Trier Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho, "The Secret Agent" Actor: Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent" Actress: Nadia Melliti, "Little Sister" Jury Prize -- TIE: "Sirat," Olivier Laxe AND "Sound of Falling," Mascha Schilinski Special Award (Prix Special): "Resurrection," Bi Gan Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, "Young Mothers" OTHER PRIZES Camera d'Or: "The President's Cake," Hasan Hadi Camera d'Or Special Mention: "My Fther's Shadow," Akinola Davies Jr. Short Film Palme d'Or: "I'm Glad You're Dead Now," Tawfeek Barhom Short Film Special Mention: "Ali," Adnan Al Rajeev Golden Eye Documentary Prize: "Imago," Deni Oumar Pitsaev Golden Eye Special Jury Prize: "The Six Billion Dollar Man," Eugene Jarecki Queer Palm: "Little Sister," Hafsia Heerzi Palme Dog: Panda, "The Love That Remains" FIPRESCI Award (Competition): "The Secret Agent," Kleber Mendonca Filho FIPRESCI Award (Un Certain Regard): "Urchin," Harris Dickinson FIPRESCI Award (Parallel Sections): "Dandelion's Odyssey," Momoko Seto UN CERTAIN REGARD Un Certain Regard Award: "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo," Diego Cespedes Jury Prize: "A Poet," Simon Mesa Soto Best Director Prize: Tarzan and Arab Nasser, "Once Upon a Time in Gaza" Performance Awards: Cleo Diara, "I Only Rest in the Storm"; Frank Dillane, "Urchin" Best Screenplay: Harry Lighton, "Pillion" Special Mention: "Norah," Tawfik Alzaidi DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT Europa Cinemas Label: "Wild Foxes," Valery Carnoy Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: "Wild Foxes," Valery Carnoy Audience Choice Award: "The President's Cake," Hasan Hadi
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Cannes 2025: Jafar Panahi wins Palme d'Or award; check full list of winners
The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival wrapped up on Saturday with Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi clinching the Palme d'Or for his political drama 'It Was Just an Accident'. The victory marks a milestone for Panahi, who has faced a decades-long ban on filmmaking and travel restrictions imposed by the Iranian government. Panahi's film follows a group of former political prisoners grappling with past traumas. His presence at the festival was hailed as a powerful statement on artistic freedom and resilience. "For a filmmaker, every award is a delight. A lot of work has gone into winning this award. At one point, I had so many different images running through my mind. I was thinking about all the faces of my friends who were in prison with me. At that time, we were in prison, but the Iranian people were out on the streets fighting for freedom. Right then, I told myself that I was glad for them," said Panahi. The festival's Grand Prix was awarded to Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value', while the Jury Prize was shared between Oliver Laxe's 'Sirât' and Mascha Schilinski's 'Sound of Falling'. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho bagged the Best Director award for 'The Secret Agent', which also earned Wagner Moura the Best Actor prize. Nadia Melliti was named Best Actress for her role in 'The Little Sister'. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne took home the Best Screenplay award for 'Young Mothers', while Bi Gan's 'Resurrection' received the Special Jury Prize. In the Un Certain Regard section, the top prize went to Diego Céspedes for 'The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo'. Simón Mesa Soto's 'A Poet' earned the Jury Prize, and Tarzan and Arab Nasser were recognised as Best Directors for 'Once Upon a Time in Gaza'. The Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature went to Hasan Hadi's 'The President's Cake', and Tawfeek Barhom's 'I'm Glad You're Dead Now' claimed the Short Film Palme d'Or. The festival also honoured Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington with honorary Palme d'Or awards for their contributions to cinema. The jury, led by French actor Juliette Binoche, described the selection this year as "bold and politically charged", noting that the festival reaffirmed cinema's power to provoke and inspire. Cannes 2025: Full list of winners Feature Films Palme d'Or UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT Director: Jafar Panahi Grand Prix AFFEKSJONSVERDI (Sentimental Value) Director: Joachim Trier Joint Jury Prize SIRT Director: Oliver Laxe SOUND OF FALLING Director: Mascha Schilinski Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho for O AGENTE SECRETO (The Secret Agent) Best Screenplay Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for JEUNES MÈRES Best Performance by an Actress Nadia Melliti in LA PETITE DERNIÈRE directed by Hafsia Herzi Best Performance by an Actor Special Award KUANG YE SHI DAI (Resurrection) Short Films Palme d'Or I'M GLAD YOU'RE DEAD NOW Director: Tawfeek Barhom Special Mention ALI Director: Adnan Al Rajeev Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Prize LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO (The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) Director: Diego Céspedes (1st film) Jury Prize UN POETA (A Poet) Director: Simón Mesa Soto Best Directing Arab and Tarzan Nasser for Once Upon a Time in Gaza Best Actor Frank Dillane in Urchin directed by Harris Dickinson Best Actress Cleo Diára in O Riso e a Faca (I Only Rest in the Storm) directed by Pedro Pinho Best Screenplay PILLION Writer: Harry Lighton (1st film) Caméra d'Or Caméra d'Or Prize THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE Director: Hasan Hadi (Directors' Fortnight) Special Mention MY FATHER'S SHADOW Director: Akinola Davies Jr (Un Certain Regard) La Cinef First Prize FIRST SUMMER Director: Heo Gayoung (KAFA, South Korea) Second Prize 12 MOMENTS BEFORE THE FLAG-RAISING CEREMONY Director: Qu Zhizheng (Beijing Film Academy, China) Joint Third Prize GINGER BOY Director: Miki Tanaka (ENBU Seminar, Japan) WINTER IN MARCH
