78TH CANNES
FILM FESTIVAL
2025

by Vittoria Di Battista

This year the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 13 to 24.The jury will be presided over by French actress Juliette Binoche, winner of the 1997 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film The English Patient. Expectations for this edition are high both for the return of acclaimed directors such as Wes Anderson, Ari Aster and Julia Ducournau and for the directorial debuts of Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson. Below are synopses and information about the 19 films competing in the official selection:

Alpha by Julie Ducournau

Highly anticipated as her last film Titane—much discussed at the time—earned her the Palme d’Or making her the third woman ever to win the Festival. Like Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) Ducournau is unafraid to incorporate horror/grotesque elements that may shock or disgust audiences.
This is her third feature film and remains shrouded in mystery; details will only be confirmed when it's screened at the Croisette. The film is expected to be in English.
Set in the late 1980s in a fictional city resembling New York the film follows 13-year-old Alpha (Mélissa Boros) ostracized by her classmates due to rumors that she carries a mysterious new disease. One day returning home with a new tattoo a series of events is triggered that will completely change her life.

Eddington by Ari Aster

Known for provocative and divisive cinema filled with taboo topics and dark humor (The Strange Thing About the Johnsons Midsommar) Aster is in competition at Cannes for the first time.
Produced by A24 and Square Peg it will be released in U.S. theaters on July 18 2025.
The film marks a return to horror for Aster now mixed with neo-Western elements. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler and Emma Stone. Cinematographer Darius Khondji uses widescreen rather than the Cinemascope typical of contemporary Westerns. The score is by Bobby Krlić (Midsommar Beau Is Afraid).
The plot follows two lovers trapped in the town of Eddington New Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. While initially charmed they soon discover that the town hides disturbing secrets at night.

Fuori by Mario Martone

The only Italian film in competition this year inspired by Goliarda Sapienza’s autobiographical novel The University of Rebibbia about her time in prison for jewel theft in 1980s Rome.
Though initially traumatic prison becomes a surprising place of connection particularly with young female inmates. Starring Valeria Golino as Goliarda alongside Matilda De Angelis and Elodie.

The Phoenician Scheme by Wes Anderson

A spy-themed film centered on a father-daughter relationship: Zsa Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) a wealthy industrialist and his daughter Lisl (Mia Threapleton) a nun. Their strained relationship is further complicated by an international espionage plot.
The all-star cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bill Murray, Riz Ahmed and Hope Davis—who also appears in Reichardt’s film.

Renoir by Chie Hayakawa

Tokyo-born director from 1976 who gained recognition in 2022 for winning the Caméra d’Or with the film “Plan 75” in which in a near-future Japan the government creates a program called “Plan 75” offering free euthanasia services to all Japanese citizens aged 75 and older to address the rapid aging of the population.
In “Renoir” the director remains within the dramatic genre but this time sets the story in the past Tokyo 1987. The protagonist is Fuki (Qui Suzuki) an 11-year-old girl with a vivid and boundless imagination which she often uses as a refuge to cope with the ongoing drama in her family as her father Keiji (Lily Frank) is suffering from cancer and her mother Utako (Hikari Ishida) being torn between work and caring for her husband often leaves the girl alone.

The History of Sound by Oliver Hermanus

A South African director who brought the country's cinema to international festivals. His film Beauty (Skoonheid) won the Queer Palm in 2011.
Based on a short story by Ben Shattuck the film stars Paul Mescal (as Lionel) and Josh O’Connor (as David) who meet in 1916 and united by their love of music embark on a journey in 1919 to record folk songs and oral histories across rural New England. It explores both their emotional relationship and early 20th-century musical culture.

The Mastermind by Kelly Reichardt

Known for her minimalist realist style Reichardt presents a heist movie set during the Vietnam War revolving around art thief James Mouney.
Though it starts as a classic “big score” plot it transitions into an examination of a troubled period in U.S. history including the emerging women’s liberation movement.
Starring Josh O’Connor (appearing in two competition films) Alana Haim, John Magaro, Amanda Plummer and Hope Davis.

Nouvelle Vague by Richard Linklater

A love letter to filmmakers and their creative rebellion.
Filmed in French it explores the journey of Jean-Luc Godard from critic to director focusing on the making of Breathless the cornerstone of the New Wave movement.
Starring Guillaume Marbeck as Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo, Adrien Rouyard as François Truffaut and Laurent Mothe as Roberto Rossellini. Shot in black and white in 4:3 format.

Dossier 137 by Dominik Moll

A French-language crime thriller. Moll has participated in the official selection multiple times with films like Harry He's Here to Help and Only Two.
The story follows Stéphanie (Léa Drucker) an investigator for the IGPN (the body that investigates police conduct) who takes on a seemingly minor case—file number 137—that turns out to hide unexpected developments.

Eagles of the Republic by Tarik Saleh

A Swedish director of Egyptian descent known for his 2022 film Boy from Heaven (Cairo Conspiracy) which won the Best Screenplay Award. He’s a master of editing and video art and has directed several music videos for Lykke Li.
His 2017 hit The Nile Hilton Incident led to his exile from Egypt
as it was based on a real-life case.
This film is the final entry in his “Cairo Trilogy” (The Nile Hilton Incident Cairo Conspiracy) and centers on George (Fares Fares) one of Egypt’s most beloved actors who having fallen from grace is forced to accept the role of the President in a heavily state-sponsored biographical film—an assignment that will become the most dangerous of his life.

Romería by Carla Simón

Simón often draws from her personal life in her films as seen in “Eté 93” (2017) where she narrates her childhood and the loss of her parents during the AIDS years.
The same goes for “Romería” her third feature film since it appears to be inspired by her father’s side of the family.
The protagonist is Marina (Llúcia Garcia) 18 years old adopted since infancy who is forced to reconnect with her biological father's family as she needs a signature to obtain a university scholarship.
Getting to know this previously unknown part of her family reopens wounds and brings out fragments of a past Marina barely remembers.
According to Simón the film explores memory and fleeting family moments that often risk being misunderstood and truly unappreciated.
It will be available in Spanish cinemas starting from September 5.

The Secret Agent (O agente secreto) by Kleber Mendonça Filho.

Filho is a Brazilian director who worked as a film critic before becoming a filmmaker.
He previously competed with the film “Aquarius” in 2016 and in 2017 was chosen as President of the Jury for the International Critics’ Week section.
Set against the backdrop of the Brazilian regime in 1977 Marcelo (Wagner Moura) moves to the city of Recife to escape a turbulent past hoping for a fresh start by reconnecting with his family although death threats jeopardize his good intentions.

Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier
The Norwegian director previously competed in the Festival with “Louder Than Bombs” while his film “Oslo August 31st” received an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature.
This year he presents a dramatic comedy in which Nora (Renate Reinsve) a successful stage actress and her sister Agnes confront the void left by their mother's death and the return of their father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) a once-celebrated director an absent parent with eccentric manners whose goal is to convince Nora to take the lead role in his new film a proposal she doesn't seem to appreciate.
The cast also includes Elle Fanning.

A Simple Accident by Jafar Panahi
Panahi is a regular presence at Cannes: Caméra d'Or for “The White Balloon” Jury Prize Un Certain Regard for “Crimson Gold” Carrosse d'Or for lifetime achievement and Best Screenplay Award for “3 Faces.”
However this year the Iranian director's film is shrouded in mystery. Only a brief synopsis has been released: “What begins as a small accident triggers a series of increasingly serious consequences.”

Sirat by Oliver Laxe
Laxe a Spanish director with French nationality has competed multiple times: with “You All Are Captains” winning the FIPRESCI Prize with “Mimosas” winning the Critics' Week Grand Prize and in the Un Certain Regard section with “Fire Will Come.”
In “Sirat” Louis and his son Stéphane are searching for Marina the eldest daughter who went missing months earlier during a rave party in the desert region of Jbel Saghro Morocco.
The film was produced by Pedro Almodóvar.

Sound of Falling by Mascha Schilinski
A German director who gained attention with “Dark Blue Girl” which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the GWFF Best First Feature Award. This year she participates in Cannes for the first time.
“Sound of Falling” is likely conceived as a sort of sequel to “Dark Blue Girl.” The film's initial title was “The Doctor Says I'll Be Alright but I'm Feelin' Blue.”
According to mk2 Films it is described as “a visually fascinating work that explores memory identity and the poetic nature of time making cinema about phantom pains that travel across eras.”
The story revolves around four women each from a different decade in Germany. The cast includes Lea Drinda Luise Heyer Susanne Wuest and Lena Urzendowsky.

Two Prosecutors by Sergei Loznitsa
With this film the Ukrainian director of Belarusian origin participates in Cannes again.
The competing film is inspired by the novel of the same name by Georgy Demidov in which a young Soviet prosecutor begins to question the system during Stalin’s reign of terror after discovering a prisoner’s letter containing a desperate plea for help.

Jeunes Mères by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
The Belgian brothers are well known for their social dramas often made with low production costs and characterized by unfiltered portrayals of reality sometimes harsh.
They have participated in many editions of the Festival winning the Palme d’Or for Best Film with “Rosetta” and “The Child.”
This film centers on five young mothers Jessica (Babette Verbeek) Perla (Lucie Laruelle) Julia (Elsa Houben) Naïma (Samia Hilmi) and Ariane (Janaïna Halloy Fokan) united not only by motherhood but also by having survived difficult circumstances which they face in a recovery center for their own good and especially that of their children.

La petite dernière by Hafsa Herzi
It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Fatima Daas.
Herzi is also well known for her acting having received major awards such as the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival and the César Award for Best Actress for the film “Borgo” by Stéphane Demoustier.
The story follows Fatima (Nadia Melliti) the youngest daughter of an Algerian immigrant family in France. After attending high school in the suburbs she manages to enroll in an elite preparatory class for university. The girl must reconcile the multiple conflicting identities that make up who she is: ambition the desire to break social boundaries and the discovery of desire conflicting with her Muslim faith and family traditions.

In the Un Certain Regard section we witness the directorial debuts of Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson.

“Eleanor the Great” by Scarlett Johansson is a drama featuring Eleanor (June Squibb) a ninety-year-old Floridian who after the death of her best friend embarks on a journey to New York her birthplace where she forms an unlikely friendship with a nineteen-year-old student.

“Urchin” by Harris Dickinson (known as the male lead in “Triangle of Sadness” by Ruben Östlund) is a drama about a homeless man with a troubled past living on the streets of London Mike who tries to break the cycle of self-destruction in order to escape loneliness and addiction and finally integrate into society. However at every step toward the light he encounters resistance. A reflection on how the will to change is often not enough and how the whirlwind of events can keep us anchored to the very place we wish to escape from.

words by Vittoria Di Battista
post coordination by Vincent Urbani