The 79th edition of Cannes Film Festival will favor the auteurs this year, with Nicolas Winding Refn, Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodóvar, Paweł Pawlikowski, Laszlo Nemes and Ryusuke Hamaguchi among the directors expected to premiere new films on the Croisette.
After a 2025 edition which had a large Hollywood presence with “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” this year’s Cannes will be dominated by international cinema and indie filmmakers. Ira Sachs could be the only American filmmaker in competition with “The Man I Love,” a musical fantasy starring Rami Malek and set in the vibrant era of late ’80s New York; while James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” could be added at a later stage. U.S. films tipped for Un Certain Regard premieres include “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” directed by Jane Schoenbrun and starring Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”) and Gillian Anderson (“Sex Education”); and Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut “Club Kid” featuring himself, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva and Eldar Isgandarov.
Kicking off the announcement on Thursday, Cannes’ longtime chief Thierry Fremaux said that “95% of the selection” would be revealed, with some films still being decided in the next few weeks. He added that 2,491 films were submitted for the festival, about 1,000 more than last year, coming from 141 countries.
Last month, Fremaux told Variety in an interview that he’s observed that “studios are producing fewer blockbusters and fewer auteur films than in the past,” and pointed out that the festival was “dependent on nothing other than the films themselves.” While the 2025 roster showcased many U.S. movies, the most buzzy that came out of Cannes where non-English-language movies such as Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” which won the Oscar for international feature and earned a best picture nod alongside Wagner Moura’s “The Secret Agent.”
As previously announced, the festival will kick off on May 12 with Pierre Salvadori’s 1920s-set comedy “The Electric Kiss” (“La Venus électrique”), while the jury will be presided over by celebrated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. The festival will pay tribute to Barbra Streisand and Peter Jackson, who will each receive an honorary Palme d’Or.
See the full lineup below, updating live.
OPENING FILM
“The Electric Kiss” (“La Venus électrique”), Pierre Salvadori
COMPETITION
UN CERTAIN REGARD
“La más dulce,” Laïla Marrakchi
“Club Kid,” Jordan Firstman
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” Jane Schoenbrun
“Everytime,” Sandra Wollner
“I’ll Be Gone in June,” Katharina Rivilis
“Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep,” Rakan Mayasi
“The Meltdown,” Manuela Martelli
OUT OF COMPETITION
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“John Lennon: The Last Interview,” Steven Soderbergh
“Avedon,” Ron Howard
“Les Survivants du Che,” Christophe Réveille
“Les Matins Merveilleux,” Avril Besson
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
CANNES PREMIERE
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” John Travolta
“Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa
