The 2025 Cannes Film Festival came at precarious moment in the history of cinema, yet still managed to revel in the splendors this art form can provide. While the annual international event may be coming to a close, it leaves behind a bevy of gems that will continue to be discussed throughout the year and may even land on the Oscars stage in 2026, as was the case with Sean Baker’s 2024 Palme d’Or winner, “Anora.” But before all that, there still remains the important act of closing out the festivities with the ever-important awards ceremony.
Predicting the Palme d’Or recipient has become a cherished pastime for fans and critics alike, but as is the case every year, the final decision rests in the hands of the Main Competition jury. This year it’s led by French actress and current European Film Academy president Juliette Binoche, and also includes Halle Berry, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sang-soo, Payal Kapadia, Carlos Reygadas, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, and Jeremy Strong. Films featured in the Un Certain Regard section, such as Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great” and Harry Lighton’s “Pillion,” will be judged by jury president Molly Manning Walker, as well as Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Louise Courvoisier, Vanja Kaluđerčić, and Roberto Minervini.
Many films are in contention for the Palme this year, but distributor Neon seems to be hedging its bets for what could be its sixth win in a row. During the festival, it acquired three features in addition to the four it bought before this year’s fest: Kleber Mendonça Filho’s historical thriller “The Secret Agent,” Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi’s nail-biter “It Was Just an Accident,” and Oliver Laxe’s rave tragedy “Sirât.” Neon acquired the North American distribution rights to Julia Ducarneau’s body horror “Alpha” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” at last year’s festival before either went into production.
After the successful rollout of “The Substance” last year and during this year’s awards race, Mubi is also jumping into the Palme d’Or fray, with acquisitions of Mascha Schilinski’s generational epic “Sound of Falling” and Lynne Ramsay’s maternal drama “Die My Love.” Coming into the festival, the distributor had already purchased Kelly Reichardt’s historical heist film “The Mastermind” and Oliver Hermanus’ 20th Century romance “A History of Sound,” both of which premiered in competition.
The award ceremony will begin Saturday, May 24, at 6:45pm Central European Summer Time (CEST), which translates to 12:45pm ET or 9:45am PT in the United States. You can follow along (in French) via Brut’s YouTube channel. Or in English on its Facebook page.
