CANNES, France (AP) — The 78th Cannes Film Festival got underway Tuesday, kicking off two weeks of French Riviera frenzy. Here are five things to look for at this yearѻý Cannes:
Oscar season starts now
It might still be springtime, but, make no mistake, multiple Oscar campaigns will be launched in Cannes.
Recent Cannes editions have produced several best-picture winners, including and this yearѻý winner, . The sway Cannes has on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as the academy has expanded its overseas membership — many of them European voters who closely follow the buzz in Cannes.
At the Oscars in March, three Cannes entries — “Anora,” “Emilia Perez” and “The Substance” — were among the 10 best-picture nominees. Less heralded movies can also emerge. The premiered last year in Cannes before its upset win at the Oscars.
As ever, a wide-open Palme d’Or race
Before we get to the Academy Awards, though, Cannes will hand out its own prize, the Palme d’Or.
Deliberations by the jury (headed this year by ) are held entirely in private, so predicting the Palme is no easier than it was guessing the next pope. That doesn’t stop bookies from handicapping the race and plenty of guesswork up and down the Croisette.
This yearѻý competition lineup features two previous Palme winners in (who returns with “Alpha,” her follow-up to “Titane”) and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (two-time winners, back this year with “The Young Motherѻý Home”).
Some of the movies that could be in the mix include Lynne Ramsayѻý “Die, My Love,” Jafar Panahiѻý “A Simple Accident” and Mascha Schilinksiѻý “Sound of Falling.” Or it could be Chie Hayakawaѻý “Renoir,” Joachim Trierѻý “Sentimental Value” or Ari Asterѻý “Eddington.” Or it could be … well, you get the idea.
Who will shine on the red carpet in Cannes?
Cannes has a power to burnish even the most established stars, and its red carpet will, for the next 10 days, host a nonstop parade of them. (And as per Cannes’ latest etiquette protocol.)
Among those on tap are Tom Cruise with “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning” on Wednesday; Spike Leeѻý “Highest 2 Lowest,” with Denzel Washington; Wes Andersonѻý “The Phoenician Scheme,” with a cast featuring Benicio Del Toro and Michael Cera; Ari Asterѻý “Eddington,” with Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone; and Oliver Hermanus’ “The History of Sound,” with Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.
O’Connor also stars in Kelly Reichardtѻý “The Mastermind,” scheduled as one of the festivalѻý last premieres.
How will the actors-turned-directors fare?
Three stars are coming to Cannes with their first features behind the camera: Scarlett Johansson (“Eleanor the Great”), Kristen Stewart (“The Chronology of Water”) and Harris Dickinson (“Urchin”). All are premiering in the Cannes sidebar Un Certain Regard, which means they won’t have quite the pressure of the competition lineup. But thereѻý no calm or easygoing section of Cannes, and each could emerge from the festival either minted as a filmmaker or humbled by critics.
Will the threat of tariffs dampen deal making?
While Cannes movie screens light up with films, deal making transpires along the Croisette. Cannes draws studios, producers and sales agents all on the hunt for acquisitions. But when U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced that , it threw a giant wrench in the border-crossing dealmaking that Cannes specializes in. Yet with little detail on any possible tariffs and widespread doubt over its feasibility, the buying and selling of movies might not be slowed.
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