CANNES 2025 Lineup Includes Aster, Linklater, Anderson, Reichardt, and Ducournau [Updated]

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has announced its lineup. Let’s just say that there were a lot of missing titles this year, and lots of internal drama, as a handful of marquee directors were seemingly rejected by Thierry Fremaux.

A total of 19 films have so far been confirmed to compete for the Palme d’Or. We can expect 2-3 titles to be added in the coming weeks. The big names vying for the Palme d’Or this year include Ari Aster, Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson Joachim Trier, Kelly Reichardt, Julia Doucournau, and The Dardennes. Some of the bigger surprises include Carla Simon, Chie Hayakawa, and Oliver Hermanus.

Only three French directors (Ducournau, Moll, Herzi) were announced in competition, which means we can expect 1-2 more to be added during the coming weeks. Some of the French filmmakers who have yet to appear in any of the sidebars include Arnaud Desplechin, Alice Winocour, and Robin Campillo.

Several anticipated films were omitted, including new works from Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick, László Nemes, Robin Campillo, Gregg Araki, Luca Guadagnino, Kristen Stewart, Karim Ainouz, and Nadav Lapid. I'll have more details surrounding the drama in a separate article.

It should be noted that Thierry Fremaux will be adding many late additions in the coming weeks, so we shouldn’t give up on the likes of Park Chan-wook, Bi Gan, and especially Lynne Ramsay, who had already been tipped as a late addition.

UPDATE: I’m told Campillo’s “Enzo” will be opening the Quinzaine (Director’s Fortnight). Meanwhile, Lapid’s “Yes!” will only be seen by the selection committee this week. Laura Wandel’s “L’Interet D’Adam” has been accepted and will either be added in comp or UCR. Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” wasn’t submitted. Malick was not ready. Jarmusch’s “Father, Mother, Brother, Sister” and Nemes’ “Orphan” were outright rejected. Christian Petzold’s “Mirroirs No.3” had been submitted, but last i checked, he hadn’t heard back yet. I’m not too sure about the other ones.

Here’s the full lineup via our friends at WASK.