The 2025 Cannes Film Festival opens on Tuesday with 22 films from some of the world's most celebrated directors competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or. The jury, led by Hollywood star Demi Moore and Korean director Park Chan-wook, will decide the winner.
Gender Disparity and Criticism
Only five of the 22 competing films are directed by women, down from seven out of 22 last year. The feminist collective 50/50 has accused the festival of 'feminism washing' by using images of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon from the 1991 film 'Thelma and Louise' for publicity, while failing to ensure gender parity in the lineup.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux defended the selection, stating: 'There is absolutely no point at which we're choosing Geena Davis or Susan Sarandon or Ridley Scott's film for the poster in order to supposedly give ourselves a feminist image.' He added that when hesitating between a male and female director's film, they would choose the female director's work. Overall, women account for 34 percent of directors in the official program this year.
Notable Films in Competition
'Bitter Christmas' by Pedro Almodovar – The legendary Spanish director, who has never won the Palme d'Or, presents a story of a director drawing on the lives of those close to her.
'Parallel Tales' by Asghar Farhadi – The exiled Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker assembles a stellar French cast including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, and Pierre Niney for a tale of intertwining stories in Paris.
'Paper Tiger' by James Gray – A late entry crime drama about two brothers navigating the Russian mafia, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.
'A Woman's Life' by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet – French actress Lea Drucker plays a stressed surgeon whose life is turned upside down by a novelist.
'The Black Ball' by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi – A sprawling Spanish historical film exploring gay lives, inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca's last work, starring Glenn Close and Penelope Cruz.
'Coward' by Lukas Dhont – The Belgian director of 'Girl' and 'Close' returns with a World War I trench drama inspired by color photographs of the period.
'All of a Sudden' by Ryusuke Hamaguchi – After 'Drive My Car', the Japanese filmmaker presents a film shot in France with Virginie Efira as a nursing home head befriending a dying Japanese playwright.
'The Unknown' by Arthur Harari – The screenwriter of 'Anatomy of a Fall' adapts his graphic novel about a man who wakes up in a stranger's body.
'Garance' by Jeanne Herry – Adele Exarchopoulos plays a gifted but hard-partying actress losing her grip.
'Sheep in the Box' by Hirokazu Kore-eda – The Japanese master presents a story of a couple welcoming a humanoid robot into their home.
'Hope' by Na Hong-jin – Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in a psychological thriller about hunters becoming the hunted.
'Nagi Notes' by Koji Fukada – After tackling pop industry exploitation, Fukada heads to rural Japan for an encounter between two lonely souls.
'Gentle Monster' by Marie Kreutzer – Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve star in a story about a partner revealing a monstrous side.
'A Man of his Time' by Emmanuel Marre – A wartime drama about civil servants in Vichy France, starring Swann Arlaud.
'Fjord' by Cristian Mungiu – The Romanian Palme d'Or winner teams up with Renate Reinsve for a tale of family conflict in a remote Norwegian village.
'The Birthday Party' by Lea Mysius – Monica Bellucci joins French stars in this third feature from the rising director.
'Moulin' by Laszlo Nemes – A biopic about French Resistance hero Jean Moulin from the director of 'Son of Saul'.
'Fatherland' by Pawel Pawlikowski – The Oscar-winning Polish filmmaker returns with a black-and-white film about writer Thomas Mann's return to Germany in 1949.
'The Man I Love' by Ira Sachs – Rami Malek plays an artist at the start of the AIDS pandemic in 1980s New York.
'The Beloved' by Rodrigo Sorogoyen – Javier Bardem stars in a drama about a director rekindling his relationship with his actress daughter.
'Minotaur' by Andrey Zvyagintsev – The exiled Russian filmmaker explores the middle class grappling with conscription during the Ukraine war.
'The Dreamed Adventure' by Valeska Grisebach – The German director makes her main competition debut with a story of a woman in a border region helping a friend.
