PARIS (AP) ā New films from , , and will compete for the Palme dāOr at the , organizers announced Thursday.
Coming off a 2024 edition that produced the as well as a number of Oscar contenders in āEmilia PĆ©rez,ā āThe Substance" and āThe Apprentice," the French film festival responded with a 2025 lineup full of big-name auteurs.
Thierry FrĆ©maux, Cannesā artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference in Paris with festival president Iris Knobloch.
Asked if he was under pressure after producing so many Oscars contenders last year, FrƩmaux said the festival organizers feel like an athlete putting his title back on the line.
āWhat happened last year was great," he said. āAnd what happened the year before was great. The last seven, eight years, Cannes and the films of Cannes were great.ā
Entries include Asterās āEddington,ā a pandemic-set Western starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone; Andersonās āThe Phoenician Scheme," starring Benicio Del Toro as a European profiteer and Linklater's appropriately French-language āNouvelle Vague,ā about Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave.
Julia Ducournau, whose āTitaneā , making Ducournau only the second female filmmaker to ever receive Cannesā top honor, will return to the festival with the 1980s New York-set āAlpha,ā about an 11-year-old with a parent who has AIDS.
Several high-profile films that some had hoped would show up in Cannes weren't announced Tuesday in Paris, including Terrence Malickās long-awaited Jesus drama āThe Way of the Wind,ā Spike Leeās Akira Kurosawa remake āHighest 2 Lowest,ā and Paul Thomas Andersonās āOne Battle After Another.ā New films by Jim Jarmusch and Kristen Stewart had also been expected in the Cannes lineup.
Asked about their absence, Fremaux declined to comment, saying he wanted to instead focus on the pictures which made the cut. He, however, said more films could be later added to the selection.
An hour after the press conference in Paris, however, Lee said on Instagram that āHighest 2 Lowestā is, indeed, going to Cannes, and screening out of competition. Representatives for the festival later confirmed that Lee's post was accurate, noting that the film wasn't announced in the press conference because Cannes was awaiting confirmation that the movie's star, , would be in attendance. With that confirmed, āHighest 2 Lowestā will premiere on May 19.
Fremaux altogether announced 19 films vying for the Palme dāOr, six of which are directed by women.
Two films starring Josh OāConnor made it into the competition lineup: Oliver Hermanusā āThe History of Sound,ā co-starring Paul Mescal, and Kelly Reichardtās āThe Mastermind,ā an art heist film set during the Vietnam War.
Other previously Cannes regulars coming back include two-time Palme winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The Belgian filmmaking brothersā latest is titled āYoung Mothers.ā Joachim Trier, whose was a highlight of the 2021 Cannes, is back in competition with āSentimental Value,ā which likewise stars Renate Reinsve.
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, during the release of his last, secretly made film, 2022's āNo Bears," and not released , will unveil his latest film, āIt Was Just an Accident.ā
Playing in the festivalās Un Certain Regard sidebar is Scarlett Johanssonās directorial debut, āEleanor the Great,ā starring June Squibb. Harris Dickinson, , will also premiere his directorial debut, āUrchin,ā in the same section.
Bono will also be coming to the Croisette for the premiere of āBono: Stories of Surrender,ā Andrew Dominik's film of the singer's one-man stage show. That will play in Cannes' special screening section.
that āMission Impossible: The Final Reckoningā will launch at the festival, which three years ago bestowed an honorary Palme dāOr on Tom Cruise. This year, Robert De Niro is set to receive one during the festivalās opening ceremony.
Following in the footsteps of Greta Gerwig, Juliette Binoche that decides this yearās Palme dāOr. Knobloch said it's the first time in 60 years that two women succeed each other in this role.
The festival runs May 13-24. The opening night film, playing out of competition, will be āLeave One Day,ā the first movie by French director AmĆ©lie Bonnin.
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Coyle reported from New York.
Samuel Petrequin And Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
