U.K. Film Debuts Announced for Cannes 2025, 2 in Competition

Thierry Frémaux, the director of the Cannes Film Festival, unveiled the line-up for 2025, its 78th edition, with an Official Selection that was surprisingly heavy on American offerings, considering the festival broke the record for submissions with a record 2,909 features submitted. As always, the entire roster made motions towards diversity (a film from China! a film from Nigeria!) without actually putting any work into it, preferring to entice American stars to the event despite the ongoing economic upheaval the country is currently causing the global economy. Even films from the U.K. were down to half the nods the country landed a year ago, with only two films in competition.

The selections were also heavy on the returnees, with two-time Palme d’Or winners the Dardenne Brothers returning to a Competition slot with a film about a shelter for young mothers. (This is the brothers' tenth time competing for the Palme d’Or.) Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa is also back with a new film set during Stalin’s Great Terror in 1937, as is Wes Anderson with his latest spy comedy thriller. Tarik Saleh returns with the final installment of his Cairo Trilogy of political thrillers, and the infamous Joachim Trier (The Worst Person In The World) reunites with co-writer Eskil Vogt and Cannes Best Actress winner Renate Reinsve. 

However, it's not a total old boys club. Six female filmmakers have made it to the Competition this year out of the total of the nineteen slots, which is far better than, say, the Oscars. They include Julia Ducournau, Kelly Reichardt, Hafsia Herzi, Carla Simon, Chie Hayakawa, and Mascha Schilinski. 

The full list of films announced is below.

Opening Night Film

• Partir Un Jour, Amélie Bonnin (France)

In Competition

• Alpha dir. Julia Ducournau/feat. Golshifteh Farahani, Tahar Rahim (France/Belgium)
• Dossier 137 dir. Dominik Moll/feat. Léa Drucker (France)
• Eddington dir. Ari Aster/feat. Pedro Pascal, Micheal Ward (U.S.)
• Eagles Of The Republic dir. Tarik Saleh (Sweden/France/Denmark/Finland)
• Fuori dir. Mario Martone/feat. Valeria Golino (Italy/France)
• The History Of Sound dir. Oliver Hermanus/feat. Josh O'Connor/Paul Mescal (U.K./U.S.)
• The Mastermind dir. Kelly Reichardt/feat. Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim (U.S.)
• Nouvelle Vague dir. Richard Linklater/feat. Guillaume Marbeck (France)
• La Petite Derniere dir. Hafsia Herzi/feat. Park Ji-min (France/Germany)
• The Phoenician Scheme, dir. Wes Anderson/feat. Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch (U.S./Germany)
• Renoir dir. Chie Hayakawa/feat. Yumi Kawai (Japan/France/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia)
• Romeria, dir. Carla Simon/feat. Llúcia Garcia (Spain/Germany)
• The Secret Agent, dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho/feat. Wagner Moura (Brazil/France)
• Sentimental Value dir. Joachim Trier/feat. Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning (Norway/France/Germany/Denmark/Sweden/U.K.)
• A Simple Accident dir. Jafar Panahi (Iran/France)
• Sirat dir. Oliver Laxe/feat. Sergi López (Spain/France)
• Sound Of Falling dir. Mascha Schilinski/feat. Luise Heyer (Germany)
• Two Prosecutors dir. Sergei Loznitsa/feat. Alexander Kuznetsov (Latvia/France/Germany/Netherlands/Romania)
• The Young Mother’s Home dir. Jean-Pierre&Luc Dardenne/feat. India Hair (Belgium)

Out of Competition

• Colours Of Time dir. Cedric Klapisch/feat. Vincent Macaigne (France)
• Highest 2 Lowest dir. Spike Lee/feat. Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice (U.S)
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning dir. Christopher McQuarrie/feat. Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg (U.S)
• The Richest Woman In The World dir. Thierry Klifa/feat. Isabelle Huppert (France/Belgium)
• Vie Privée dir. Rebecca Zlotowski/feat. Jodie Foster (France)

Cannes Premieres

• Amrum dir. Fatih Akin/feat. Diane Kruger (Germany)
• Connemara, dir. Alex Lutz/feat. Mélanie Thierry (France)
• The Disappearance Of Josef Mengele dir. Kirill Serebrennikov/fear. August Diehl (Germany, France, U.K., Spain)
• Orwell: 2+2 = 5 dir. Raoul Peck/Documentary (France/U.S.)
• Splitsville dir. Mike Corvino/feat. Dakota Johnson/O-T Fagbenle (U.S.)
• The Wave dir. Sebestian Lelio/feat. Daniela López (Chile)

Un Certain Regard

Directorial Debuts

• Aisha Can’t Fly Away dir. Morad Mostafa/feat. (Tunisia/Qatar/Egypt)
• Karavan dir. Zuzana Kirchnerová/feat. (Czech Republic)
• Eleanor The Great dir. Scarlett Johansson/feat. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman (U.S.)
• My Father’s Shadow dir. Akinola Davies Jr./feat. Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (U.K./Ireland/Nigeria)
• The Mysterious Gaze Of The Flamingo dir. Diego Céspedes/feat. (Chile)
• Pillion dir. Harry Lighton/feat. Alexander Skarsgård, Harry Melling (U.K.)
• The Plague dir. Charlie Polinger/feat. Joel Edgerton (U.S)
• Urchin dir. Harris Dickinson/feat. Frank Dillane (U.K.)

Established Directors

• Heads Or Tails? dir. Alessio Rigo de Righi&Matteo Zoppis/feat. John C. Reilly (Italy/U.S.)
• Homebound dir. Neeraj Ghaywan/feat. Janhavi Kapoor (India)
• The Last One For The Road dir. Francesco Sossai/feat. Filippo Scotti (Italy)
• The Great Arch dir. Stéphane Demoustier/feat. Claes Bang (France)
• Meteors dir. Hubert Charuel/feat. Paul Kircher (France)
• Once Upon A Time In Gaza, dir. Tarzan Nasser&Arab Nasser/Documentary (Palestine/France)
• A Pale View Of The Hills dir. Kei Ishikawa/feat. Fumi Nikaidô (Japan)
• Promised Sky dir. Erige Sehiri (Tunisia)

Midnight Screenings

• Dalloway, Yann Gozlan (France/Belgium)
• Exit 8, Genki Kawamura (Japan)
• Sons Of The Neon Night, Juno Mak (Hong Kong/China)

Special Screenings

• Bono: Stories Of Surrender dir. Andrew Dominik/feat. Bono (Australia/U.S.)
• A Magnificent Life dir. Sylvain Chomet (France)
• Tell Her That I Love Her dir. Romane Bohringer (France)

The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival will occur from May 13 to May 24, 2025.