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Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, and Richard Linklater Join the Race for the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2025
PARIS (AP) — The 78th Cannes Film Festival is set to dazzle with a star-powered lineup, as organizers announced Thursday a competition slate featuring new films from acclaimed auteurs Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, and Richard Linklater.
Building on the momentum of its 2024 edition—which produced Oscar-winning “Anora” and contenders like “Emilia Pérez,” “The Substance,” and “The Apprentice”—Cannes 2025 promises another year of cinematic excellence. Artistic director Thierry Frémaux and festival president Iris Knobloch revealed 19 films in competition during a press conference in Paris, highlighting six female-directed entries.
Ari Aster brings “Eddington,” a pandemic-era Western starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Emma Stone. Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” stars Benicio Del Toro as a European profiteer. Richard Linklater offers “Nouvelle Vague,” a French-language exploration of Jean-Luc Godard and the New Wave movement.
Among returning festival favorites, Julia Ducournau—who won the Palme d’Or in 2021 with “Titane”—returns with “Alpha,” set in 1980s New York and centered on an 11-year-old with a parent living with AIDS. Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return with “Young Mothers,” while Joachim Trier premieres “Sentimental Value,” reuniting with Renate Reinsve.
Notably, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was previously imprisoned during the release of his 2022 film “No Bears,” will debut his latest work, It Was Just an Accident.
In a surprise post-announcement twist, Spike Lee confirmed on Instagram that his film Highest 2 Lowest—a remake of Kurosawa’s High and Low starring Denzel Washington—will screen out of competition. Festival officials confirmed the film’s May 19 premiere after securing Washington’s attendance.
Other buzzy selections include Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound with Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal, and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, an art heist thriller set during the Vietnam War.
In the Un Certain Regard section, Scarlett Johansson will debut as a director with Eleanor the Great, starring June Squibb. Harris Dickinson also premieres his directorial debut, Urchin. Bono’s stage performance is getting the film treatment in Bono: Stories of Surrender, directed by Andrew Dominik and featured in a special screening.
The 2025 festival runs May 13–24. French filmmaker Amélie Bonnin will open the festival with Leave One Day. Juliette Binoche will lead the jury, following in the footsteps of last year’s president, Greta Gerwig—marking the first time in six decades that two women have consecutively held the role.
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