The Cannes Film Festival Kicks Off
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The 79th Cannes Film Festival opens with sunshine, stars, and big questions about the global moment
It’s mid-May in the south of France, which can only mean one thing: the Cannes Film Festival has begun. On day one of the festival, it was nothing but brilliant blue skies and blinding sunlight, a harbinger of all the good things to come. While the weather was light and pleasant, the festival takes place amid ongoing global conflicts, the ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI), and an ever-changing world. As always, art – and Cannes – reflects the present-day moment.
South Korean director, Park Chan-wook, who chairs this year’s jury, said on opening day during the jury press conference, “I don’t think politics and art should be divided. I think it’s a strange concept to think that they’re in conflict with each other. Just because a work of art has a political statement, it shouldn’t be considered an enemy of art.”
Jurors were asked their reaction to being selected for the honor of being on the Cannes jury. Multi-Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) replied, “I was very excited. Especially when I heard it was going to be Park. I consider it to be a masterclass.”
Juror Demi Moore, whose film The Substance premiered at Cannes in 2024, said, “I feel incredibly honored. My first thought is: Me? I had such a beautiful experience here a few years ago .” Noting the French Riviera locale, Moore said, “And who can complain about the incredible view in this beautiful place? I feel tremendously excited. I feel like a little kid.”
Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga, like Moore, is a repeat visitor to Cannes. Her film Loving premiered here. “My heart skipped a beat. It felt like poetry,” Negga said, reflecting on the jury invitation. “I was first at Cannes 10 years ago. It’s the honor of a lifetime… It’s the privilege of my life.” Actor and juror Stellan Skarsgård provided comic relief during the serious press conference. When asked how he felt about being selected, the Sentimental Value actor said, “Finally!” When the laughter in the room subsided, he said, “I’m so relieved that I didn’t die before I got here.”
No topic was off-limits during the opening day press conference, as members of the international press asked the jurors about everything from AI to politics to Hollywood’s treatment of women (which Moore noted was “a work in progress”). On AI in the film industry, Moore said, “I think that the reality is: against-ness breeds against-ness. AI is here. So, to fight it is to fight a battle we will lose. [I think] finding ways to work with it is a better path to take.”
As the week continues, stars, press, and film industry elite will descend en masse at the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport to participate in one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals. (The Venice Film Festival is three years older than Cannes – it hosts its 82nd edition this September.)
This year, Hollywood icons Barbra Streisand and Lord of the Rings worldbuilder and director, Peter Jackson, will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or for their contributions to cinema. Hollywood veteran and Grease icon, John Travolta, is set to premiere his directorial debut at the festival. The film, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, is based on his 1997 children’s book.
The festival’s opening film is a French film, La Vénus électrique, from director Pierre Salvadori. It’s a rare year for the festival when there are no blockbuster titles. Last year welcomed Tom Cruise’s final Mission Impossible film. And in 2024, it was all about George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. One of the most anticipated titles this year is Paper Tiger, which stars Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller, and Adam Driver. The crime drama was written and directed by James Gray.
There’s something extra-exciting about this year’s festival, especially for fans of the HBO Max hit series, The White Lotus. Season four of the series has a Cannes Film Festival-themed storyline, which means that it’ll be filmed this month in Cannes. Creator Mike White and the cast will be in Cannes immediately after the festival concludes to get the needed footage for the next season. The next season’s cast (it rotates each season) includes Laura Dern, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan, Rosie Perez, Heather Graham, Chris Messina, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Notable special screenings at this year’s festival include the out-of-competition films Avedon, from director Ron Howard, and John Lennon: The Last Interview by Steven Soderbergh.
The film festival releases a poster each year, in honor of that year’s festival, which makes a statement about cinema. This year’s poster features Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise. The Ridley Scott film premiered at Cannes 35 years ago, on May 20, 1991. The festival organizers state of the poster selection: “These two unforgettable fighters turned the tables and shattered a few gender stereotypes, both societal and cinematic; they embodied absolute freedom and unwavering friendship; they showed the way to emancipation when it becomes vital. Remembering this today means celebrating the road already covered, without overlooking what remains ahead.”
At the start of their Odyssean road trip, Thelma (Davis) says to Louise (Sarandon), “I don’t remember ever feeling this awake.” It’s a fitting image choice, really, for this year’s festival poster. There is a certain aliveness and an electricity found at Cannes, and it happens only once a year in the sunny south of France. Cannes is a Brigadoon-like experience – a rare event that feels like a magic portal into glamour, excess, and high art, and it’s safe to say that attendees at the festival may not ever remember feeling this awake, this alive, and this enthralled by cinema.
Lead photo credit : Official poster for Cannes Film Festival 2026
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