Cannes opens May 12 with 22 films

Cannes is where the movie year starts to feel real. Not the box-office year — the prestige year, the one built on premieres, standing ovations, distribution fights and the first serious awards chatter. This year’s festival runs from May 12 to May 23, with 22 films in competition for the Palme d’Or and South Korean director Park Chan-wook presiding over the main jury. The headline is simple, but the reason people care is bigger: Cannes still decides which films become events before most audiences even know they exist. ### Why does Cannes matter so much? Cannes is not just a festival — it is a sorting machine for global cinema. A premiere here can turn a difficult art-house film into a must-watch, revive a director’s momentum, or kick off an Oscar-season story months before Venice, Telluride and Toronto show up. That matters even more now because theatrical prestige films need attention early, and Cannes is still one of the few places that can generate it instantly. (festival-cannes.com) ### What’s actually in competition? The competition slate is stacked with familiar names. Pedro Almodóvar returns with *Amarga Navidad*. Asghar Farhadi has *Parallel Tales*. Hirokazu Kore-eda brings *Sheep in the Box*. James Gray was added late with *Paper Tiger*. Other competition titles come from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Cristian Mungiu, László Nemes, Pawel Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs and Andréi Zvyagintsev. Basically, Cannes built a lineup around filmmakers the festival trusts to deliver serious conversation. (france24.com) ### What opens the festival? The opener is *The Electric Kiss* by Pierre Salvadori, but it is playing out of competition. That is a classic Cannes move. The opening-night film gets the glamour and the red carpet, while the Palme race stays reserved for the harder, more prestige-coded titles. It lets the festival start with something accessible without tipping its hand on the prize. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why is Park Chan-wook a big deal here? Park is not just a famous director — his appointment is a marker of where Cannes sees world cinema right now. He is the first Korean filmmaker to preside over the Cannes jury, which is a real milestone for Korean cinema at the festival. And he is deeply tied to Cannes already: *Oldboy* won the Grand Prix there, *Thirst* took the Jury Prize, and *Decision to Leave* won him best director. (festival-cannes.com) ### Who else is deciding the Palme? The rest of the jury gives you a sense of the festival’s taste map. Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga and Isaach De Bankolé are on it, along with Diego Céspedes, Laura Wandel and screenwriter Paul Laverty. That is a mix of Hollywood visibility, festival credibility and international filmmaking clout — exactly the blend Cannes likes when it wants the verdict to feel both glamorous and serious. (festival-cannes.com) ### Is this just about auteurs again? Mostly, yes — but that is the point. Cannes is leaning hard into established directors this year. The competition list reads like a map of modern festival cinema, with fewer obvious U.S. crowd-pleasers and more veteran international names. The catch is that this can make the lineup feel conservative. But Cannes would argue that reliability matters when you are trying to set the tone for the rest of the year. (deadline.com) ### Where do surprises usually come from? Not always from the Palme lineup itself. Cannes also uses Un Certain Regard, Cannes Première and the side sections to surface first features, riskier work and filmmakers who are not yet locked into the top tier. This year’s official selection was expanded after the initial April announcement, which is a reminder that the festival likes to keep a little room for late additions and last-minute momentum. (deadline.com) ### So what should people watch for this week? Watch the reactions, not just the titles. Which premiere gets the longest ovation is fun gossip, but the more important signal is which film leaves Cannes with buyers, critics and awards-watchers all moving in the same direction. That is when a festival movie stops being a premiere and starts becoming the year’s next big thing. (festival-cannes.com)