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The 79th Cannes Film Festival has officially commenced on the Côte d’Azur, transforming the famous Croisette promenade into a sun-dappled circus of red carpets, megawatt premieres, and early Oscar buzz. While major Hollywood studios have largely taken a back seat this year, international cinema and indie heavyweights are stepping into the spotlight to drive the conversation and stir up some healthy controversy.
Leading the early headlines is director Steven Soderbergh, whose special screening documentary, John Lennon: The Last Interview, has quickly become the talk of the festival. Chronicling the music icon’s final interview at the Dakota in New York just before his tragic death, the film has sparked intense debate after Soderbergh acknowledged using artificial intelligence to illustrate some of Lennon’s more philosophical musings.
The integration of AI into filmmaking has already rippled out into the wider festival culture, drawing commentary on the opening days from the official Cannes Jury. Led by South Korean president Park Chan-wook, the jury, which features stars like Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, and Stellan Skarsgård, is currently tasked with deciding who takes home the prestigious Palme d’Or among 22 films in competition.
Alongside technological boundary-pushing, the festival is leaning heavily on artistic legacy. The opening ceremonies bestowed an honorary Palme d’Or upon Peter Jackson, with music and film icon Barbra Streisand set to receive the same honor later in the week. Meanwhile, legendary Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar has returned to his native tongue with Bitter Christmas, a deeply personal melodrama exploring grief, aging, and the filmmaking process itself.
For industry insiders and film fans tracking the next wave of must-see cinema, these are the essential titles making waves on the screen this week:
- “Hope” (Dir. Na Hong-jin)
- The Buzz: A long-gestating, genre-flipping sci-fi thriller that festival artistic director Thierry Frémaux notes “constantly changes genres.”
- Star Power: Features a massive crossover cast including Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell, Hwang Jung-min, and Zo In-sung.
- “Paper Tiger” (Dir. James Gray)
- The Buzz: A surprise, late addition to the official competition slate that instantly became one of the most anticipated American titles of the festival.
- Star Power: Adam Driver and Miles Teller star as two Queens-born brothers entangled with the Russian mafia, alongside Scarlett Johansson.
- “Fatherland” (Dir. Paweł Pawlikowski)
- The Buzz: The acclaimed Polish director returns with his signature style, a powerfully succinct, black-and-white period drama tracking German author Thomas Mann on a post-WWII road trip.
- Star Power: Stars Hanns Zischler alongside Anatomy of a Fall breakout Sandra Hüller as Mann’s daughter.
- “All of a Sudden” (Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
- The Buzz: The historic Drive My Car director makes his highly anticipated French-language debut, following a nursing home director and a terminally ill Japanese playwright.
- Star Power: Stars Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto.
- “Sheep in the Box” (Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
- The Buzz: The former Palme d’Or winner brings his exquisite human tenderness to the sci-fi genre, following a grieving couple who decides to adopt an infant humanoid robot.
- “The Man I Love” (Dir. Ira Sachs)
- The Buzz: A moving, intimate 1980s New York drama centering on an actor navigating a life-threatening illness while preparing for what could be his final curtain call.
- Star Power: Stars Rami Malek and Ben Whishaw.
- “The Unknown” (Dir. Arthur Harari)
- The Buzz: The co-writer of Anatomy of a Fall steps into the director’s chair for a surreal, psychological body-swap drama about a photographer who wakes up in the body of a woman he was following.
- Star Power: Stars Léa Seydoux.
- “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (Dir. Jane Schoenbrun)
- The Buzz: Playing in the Un Certain Regard section, one of indie cinema’s most vital contemporary voices delivers a meta-narrative about the chaotic making of a slasher film.
- Star Power: Stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
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