CANNES2025 - remote notes

[Chris Knipp]

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CANNES 2025 - first overview.
SOURCE (https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2025).
The 78th edition runs May 13-24, 2025.
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Opening Film: PARTIR UN JOUR by Amélie BONNIN | 1st film – Out of Competition

In Competition
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME by Wes ANDERSON
EDDINGTON by Ari ASTER
JEUNES MÈRES by Jean-Pierre et Luc DARDENNE
ALPHA by Julia DUCOURNAU
RENOIR by HAYAKAWA Chie
THE HISTORY OF SOUND by Oliver HERMANUS
LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Hafsia HERZI
SIRAT by Oliver LAXE
NEW WAVE by Richard LINKLATER
TWO PROSECUTORS by Sergei LOZNITSA
FUORI by Mario MARTONE
O AGENTE SECRETO (THE SECRET AGENT) by Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO
DOSSIER 137 by Dominik MOLL
UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT by Jafar PANAHI
THE MASTERMIND by Kelly REICHARDT
EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC by Tarik SALEH
SOUND OF FALLING by Mascha SCHILINSKI
ROMERÍA by Carla SIMÓN
SENTIMENTAL VALUE by Joachim TRIER

Un Certain Regard
LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO by Diego CÉSPEDES | 1st film
(THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO)
MÉTÉORS by Hubert CHARUEL
MY FATHER’S SHADOW by Akinola DAVIES JR | 1st film
L’INCONNU DE LA GRANDE ARCHE by Stéphane DEMOUSTIER
URCHIN by Harris DICKINSON | 1st film
HOMEBOUND by Neeraj GHAYWAN
TÔI YAMANAMINO HIKARI (A PALE VIEW OF HILLS) by ISHIKAWA Kei
ELEANOR THE GREAT by Scarlett JOHANSSON | 1st film
KARAVAN by Zuzana KIRCHNEROVA | 1st film
PILLION by Harry LIGHTON | 1st film
AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY by Morad MOSTAFA | 1st film
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by Arab et Tarzan NASSER
THE PLAGUE by Charlie POLINGER | 1st film
PROMISED SKY by Erige SEHIRI
LE CITTÀ DI PIANURA by Francesco SOSSAI
(THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD)
TESTA O CROCE? (HEADS OR TAILS?) by Matteo ZOPPIS, Alessio RIGO DE RIGHI

Out of Competition
COLOURS OF TIME by Cédric KLAPISCH
LA FEMME LA PLUS RICHE DU MONDE by Thierry KLIFA
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST by Spike LEE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING by Christopher MCQUARRIE
VIE PRIVÉE by Rebecca ZLOTOWSKI

Midnight Screenings
DALLOWAY by Yann GOZLAN
EXIT 8 by KAWAMURA Genki
FENG LIN HUO SHAN by MAK Juno
(SONS OF THE NEON NIGHT)

Cannes Premiere
AMRUM by Fatih AKIN
SPLITSVILLE by Michael Angelo COVINO
LA OLA (THE WAVE) de Sebastián LELIO
CONNEMARA by Alex LUTZ
ORWELL: 2+2=5 by Raoul PECK
DAS VERSCHWINDEN DES JOSEF MENGELE (THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOSEF MENGELE) by Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV

Special Screenings
BONO: STORIES OF SURRENDER by Andrew Dominik
TELL HER THAT I LOVE HER by Romane BOHRINGER
A MAGNIFICENT LIFE by Sylvain CHOMET
Juliette Binoche will preside over the Competition Jury of the 78th Festival de Cannes. Robert De Niro will receive an Honorary Palme d’or. Tom Cruise will be back on the Croisette with MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING, debuting out of competition. Spike Lee ditto (for HIGHEST 2 LOWEST) with the star, Denzel Washington. Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Julia Ducournau, Kelly Reichardt in Competition. Jodie Foster will be there, starring in Rebecca Zlotkowski's Out of Competition VIE PRIVÉE; Josh O'Connor, leading two films in comoetition with Kellly Reichardt's heist movie THE MASTERMIND and Oliver Hermanus' gay romance THE HISTORY OF SOUND alongside Paul Mescal.

See the comment on this year at Cannes ("France’s Love Affair With Hollywood Continues, and Vice Versa, in U.S.-Heavy Cannes Lineup") from Peter Debruge in VARIETY (https://variety.com/2025/film/columns/cannes-film-festival-selection-announced-critic-analysis-1236365820/). See comments on the Competition lineup from The Oscar Expert bros (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzDQ5dBf2pA&ab_channel=TheOscarExpert) (brother bro says he will be there to the end). They single out Joachim Trier's SENTIMENTAL VALUE (they love Trier and the WORST PERSON actress Renate Reinsve stars) and Mascha Schilinski's much buzzed-about and pre-sold SOUND OF FALLING as the two top Competition contenders this year.

[Chris Knipp]

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Sound of Falling

There is special buzz about the new German-language film SOUND OF FALLING (German: In die Sonne schauen, lit. 'Staring at the sun'), the sophomore effort of director Mascha Schilenski, one of the more buzz-worthy items in Cannes Competition this year. Reportedly MK2's outlay was significant.

Prmise. A remote German farm harbors generations of secrets. The film follows four women from different historical periods whose lives are subtly interconnected. Each spends part of her childhood or youth on the same four-sided farmstead in the Altmark region. As they move through their respective presents, traces of the past gradually emerge.


“We were simply blown away when we saw Sound of Falling. Mascha Schilinski’s vision is so bold and visceral, this signals the arrival of an exceptional new voice in cinema,” said Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 films. The filmmaker made her debut in 2017 with DARK BLUE GIRL.

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Some of MK2 Films's most famous titles include ANATOMY OF A FALL, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, PORTRAIT OF A LAD ON FIRE, and COLD WAR. Other notable films include Variety's ATLANTICS and HOUSE ARREST. I remember how dominant the label is from moviegoing in Paris.

[Chris Knipp]

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FROM SAEED ROUSTAEE'S WOMAN AND CHILD

Cannes 2025 roster additions

Lynne Ramsay’s long-awaited new film, DIE, MY LOVE, the adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel, has been announced as a late addition to this year’s Cannes Competition lineup as has Saeed Roustaee’s WOMAN AND CHILD. Ramsay’s first for eight years, DIE, MY LOVE stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. An adaptation of a 2017 novel by Ariana Harwicz, DIE, MY LOVE is a dark comedy thriller that concerns a new mother in the French countryside who develops postpartum depression and enters psychosis, a woman "battling her demons: embracing exclusion yet wanting to belong, craving freedom while feeling trapped, yearning for family life yet wanting to burn the entire house down," goes a summary.

Saeed Roustaee’s WOMAN AND CHILD, the Letterboxd summary goes, is a "contemporary family drama of revenge and forgiveness" that "stars Parinaz Izadyar (LAW OF TEHRAN) as a widowed nurse struggling with her rebellious son. Tensions reach a peak during the betrothal ceremony with her new boyfriend, but when a tragic accident occurs, she finds herself confronting feelings of betrayal as she seeks justice." Roustaee (or Roustayi: سعید روستایی) received the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes in 2022 for LEILA'S BROTHERS, presented in Competition.

Another high-profile Cannes 2025 addition, in the Un Certain Regard section, is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, which stars Imogen Poots, a passion project adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir THE CHRONOLGY OF WATER. Also in Un Certain Regard are two other A-list actors' directorial debuts, ELEANOR THE GREAT from Scarlett Johannsson starring June Squibb and concerning a 90-year-old Floridian woman who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old student in New York City; and Harris Dickenson's URCHIN,featuring Frank Dillane (son of Stephen) as a homeless person struggling to survive in contemporary London.

Ethan Coen’s HONEY DON'T! has been added to the Midnight Screenings. It is the second in his "lesbian B-movie trilogy" after last year’s DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS. For this Margaret Qualley returns alongside Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans.

Also added: Cannes Directors' Fortnight: YES by Nadav Lapid.
Cannes Frontières Platform: SKIN SIDE UP by Robert Ten Eyck.

[Chris Knipp]

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JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ROBERT PATTINSON IN DIE, MY LOVE

Cannes addtions - fuller list

In Competition
DIE, MY LOVE by Lynn RAMSEY
WOMAN AND CHILD by Saeed ROUSTAEE

Un Certain Regard
LOVE ME TENDER by Anna CAZENAVE CAMBET
UN POETA by Simón MESA SOTO
O RISO E A FACA (I ONLY REST IN THE STORM) by Pedro PINHO
THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER by Kristen STEWART | 1st film

Cannes Premiere
LOVE ON TRIAL by Kōji FUKADA
ÁSTIN SEM EFTIR ER (THE LOVE THAT REMAINS) by Hlynur PÁLMASON
MAGALHÃES by Lav DIAZ

Midnight Screenings
LE ROI SOLEIL by Vincent Maël CARDONA
HONEY DON’T by Ethan COEN

Special Screenings
AMÉLIE ET LA MÉTAPHYSIQUE DES TUBES by Maïlys VALLADE & Liane-Cho HAN | 1st film
MAMA by Or SINAI | 1st film
ARCO by Ugo BIENVENU | 1st film
QUI BRILLE AU COMBAT (THE WONDERERS) by Joséphine JAPY | 1st film[/SIZE]

And as part of a tribute to Pierre Richard
L’HOMME QUI A VU L’OURS QUI A VU L’HOMME by Pierre RICHARD

Cannes Directors' Fortnight
YES by Nadav Lapid

Cannes Frontières Platform
SKIN SIDE UP by Robert Ten Eyck

SOURCE (https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/additions-to-the-selection-of-the-78th-festival-de-cannes/)

[Chris Knipp]

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Cannes 2025 Directors Fortnight

Short and Medium Length Films
+10K by Gala Hernández López
BEFORE THE SEA FORGETS by Ngọc Duy Lê
THE BODY by Louris van de Geer
BREAD WILL WALK (Le pain se lève) by Alex Boya
CŒUR BLEU (Blue Heart) by Samuel Suffren
KARMASH (کرمش) by Aleem Bukhari
LOYNES by Dorian Jespers
LA MORT DU POISSON (Death of the Fish) by Eva Lusbaronian
NERVOUS ENERGY by Eve Liu
WHEN THE GEESE FLEW by Arthur Gay

Feature Films
ENZO by Laurent Cantet, directed by Robin Campillo - opening film
AMOUR APOCALYPSE (Peak Everything) by Anne Émond
BRAND NEW LANDSCAPE (見はらし世代) by Yuiga Danzuka - first feature film
CLASSE MOYENNE (The Party's Over!) de Antony Cordier
DANGEROUS ANIMALS by Sean Byrne
LA DANSE DES RENARDS (Wild Foxes) by Valéry Carnoy - first feature film
L'ENGLOUTIE (The Girl in the Snow) by Louise Hémon - first feature film
LES FILLES DÉSIR (The Girls We Want) by Prïncia Car - first feature film
GIRL ON EDGE (Hua yang shao nv sha ren shi jian) by Jinghao Zhou – first feature film
INDOMPTABLES by Thomas Ngijol
KOKUHO by Lee Sang-il
LUCKY LU by Lloyd Lee Choi - first feature film
MILITANTROPOS by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi
MIROIRS No. 3 by Christian Petzold
LA MORT N’EXISTE PAS (Death Does Not Exist) by Félix Dufour-Laperrière
THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE (Mamlaket al-Qasab) by Hasan Hadi - first feature film
QUE MA VOLONTÉ SOIT FAITE (Her Will Be Done) by Julia Kowalski
YES de Nadav Lapid
SORRY, BABY by Eva Victor – first feature film - closing film. SOURCE (https://www.quinzaine-cineastes.fr/en/news/the-2025-selection)

Comments
Opening and Closing Films:
."Enzo" opens the Fortnight, a film directed by Robin Campillo after his friend and co-writer, Laurent Cantet, passed away. "Sorry, Baby" closes the event, a drama produced by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight).
Christian Petzold's "Miroirs No. 3": This film, starring Paula Beer, follows an aspiring pianist whose life is disrupted by a miraculous survival from a car crash.
Nadav Lapid's "Yes!" ,which received the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, follows a jazz musician and his wife who struggle to make ends meet while performing for the elite.
Other Notable Films: "Militantropos," a documentary about the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Thomas Cailley, the first Prix Alpine winner, will receive his award during the closing ceremony.

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FROM CHRISTIAN PETZOLD'S MIRRORS NO. 3