Cannes Lineup Takeaways: A Distinctly Fresh Vibe But Also Plenty Of Star Power

The Cannes Film Festival revealed its lineup this morning in Paris and it was a typically star studded and intriguing lineup. You can see the full lineup here. Below are our five key takeaways from the reveal.

1. Changing Of The Guard?

This is a fresh lineup. Frémaux said there’s more to come but this wasn’t your typical Cannes Competition lineup studded with older, familiar auteurs. The festival is opening with a female debut filmmaker for the first time in the shape of Amelie Bonin’s Leave One Day and seven of the 19 films in Competition are first time Palme d’Or contenders. The average age in Competition must be significantly lower than most years. Yes there are three previous Palme d’Or winners in the lineup, but the likes of Mascha Schilinski, Hafsia Herzi and Chie Hayakawa, let alone Julie Ducournau and Carla Simon, represent a potential new wave of filmmakers. The UCR section, which is primarily for emerging filmmakers, has some real oomph behind it this edition with buzzed about first movies from the likes of Harris Dickinson and Akinola Davies Jr.

2. Women In The Spotlight

Cannes President Irish Knobloch set the tone at the press conference, declaring: “Changes are being made. Women are finally being heard. The festival is very attentive to that,” before noting that Juliette Binoche’s appointment as head of the jury marks the first time that two women have headed the jury in consecutive years. Cannes has traditionally featured few women in its Competition. This year there are six women directors in Competition and that could go up when additions are made (the record number is seven female directors back in 2023); the fest opens with a first-time female filmmaker; and the lineup includes eye-catching projects such as Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, which plays in UCR.

3. What’s Not In

There were some intriguing omissions. Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee and Arnaud Desplechin were probably the biggest shockers. Though Spike Lee has just taken to Instagram to say that his Denzel Washington Akira Kurosawa adaptation is playing Out Of Competition! Kristen Stewart, Lazlo Nemes and Karim Ainouz were also widely speculated as possibles. There will be plenty more additions across the lineup, including one assumes in Competition. Frémaux only announced four Special Screenings; last year there were 12. As we reported earlier this week, we’ve heard that Lynne Ramsay is among those who could potentially be a late addition to the lineup. It’s a good thing that Paramount and Mission Impossible came through because recent additions have tended to have a couple of big-canvas studio movies. Without MI Cannes would have been light in that department. In terms of geography, only one film in Competition from Asia is something of a surprise.

4. Cannes In Demand

Frémaux confirmed that the festival has received a record 2909 features so far this edition. That’s a record and a huge jump from only 1500 a few years ago. Cannes is hugely in-demand. Of these films, Frémaux revealed that 68% of submissions were from male directors, 32% from women, and that one third were first films. Frémaux revealed that submissions came from 168 countries (including what he said could be a first ever film from Nigeria at the festival in My Father’s Shadow). “Cinema is alive and kicking,” he declared. Can Cannes follow up on recent years where films from its lineup have scored very highly in the U.S. awards season? We’ll see.

5. Star Power

Despite the fresh vibe to the lineup, there will be plenty of star-power on show. Tom Cruise, Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Hanks, Pedro Pascal, Scarlett Johansson, Bono, Josh O’Connor, Dakota Johnson, Denzel Washington (if Spike’s reveal is accurate) and Paul Mescal are just some of the names likely to tread the carpet. Cannes has been known to pull off the odd spectacular stunt too. Tom Cruise’s last film on the Croisette, Top Gun, was greeted with a fly by. Could he have something up his sleeve this go-around for Mission Impossible?