It’s one of the most anticipated days of the year for any film lover: the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival has been announced! The famed French festival excels at curating a mix of films from the world’s top directors, as well as introducing exciting new talent. Looking through this year’s list, I can already tell it’s going to be a memorable slate. For fun, I’ve gone through and picked out the ten films I’m most looking forward to.
10. Eddington (Dir. Ari Aster)
Aster’s (Hereditary, Midsommar) first Cannes selection marks a new chapter for the American auteur, long considered a leading voice in modern horror. Eddington seems like a shift — a dark satire about a sheriff who decides to run for mayor after refusing to wear a face mask at a grocery store. It also boasts an incredible ensemble: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler.
9. The History of Sound (Dir. Oliver Hermanus)
South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus (Living, Mary and George) new film is a World War I drama that follows two broadcast journalists who, while traveling and recording the sounds of England, begin to explore their deepening relationship. It stars two of the most exciting young stars working today: Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, who is set to have a big festival appearance with another film on this list.
8. Sound of Falling (Dir. Mascha Shilinski)
A bit of a wildcard, but early word about German filmmaker Mascha Shilinski’s new film, Sound of Fallin,g is very strong and appears it could be a serious Palme d’Or contender. The story sounds complex and rich, spanning a century as four girls from different time periods experience their youth on a German farm, their lives becoming intertwined until time seems to dissolve.
7. Highest 2 Lowest (Dir. Spike Lee)
American filmmaker Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) returns to Cannes for the first time since 2018 (he was supposed to participate in 2020 with his film Da 5 Bloods, but the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Lee is re-making Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, but now with a modern and music focus. Lee’s four-decade-long body of work speaks for itself, but most exciting is Highest 2 Lowest will see him reuniting with Denzel Washington for the first time since 2006’s Inside Man.
Intriguingly, Washington’s co-star will be hip-hop musician A$AP Rocky. Rocky has appeared in various acting projects over the last decade (including an acclaimed role in the 2025 Sundance premiere If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), but nothing to the substance of a Spike Lee film.
6. The Secret Agent (Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça’s follow-up to his incredible Bacarau (2019), The Secret Agent, appears to be an incredible personal project. The story follows a teacher fleeing to Recife during the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the late 1970s. Excitingly, it stars the incredibly underrated Wagner Moura (Narcos, Civil War), who could give the best performance of the festival with this material.
5. The Phoenician Scheme (Dir. Wes Anderson)
While some have grown tired of Anderson’s latest output, I continue to be impressed with his films. The Phoenician Scheme is Anderson’s third straight Cannes premiere, and like his last two (Asteroid City, The French Dispatch), The Phoenician Scheme boasts a massive cast of stars, incredibly fine-tuned visual filmmaking, and deadpan dialogue.
4. The Mastermind (Dir. Kelly Reichardt)
One of the most consistent filmmakers working today, Kelly Reichardt (First Cow, Wendy and Lucy) is back with The Mastermind. The film is about an art heist during the backdrop of the Vietnam War, an intriguing pivot for her usually quiet, intimate style. Yet, knowing Reichardt, she will infuse this with her deeply intimate touch. Rising star Josh O’Connor stars, who after La Chimera in 2023 and his two debuts this year, appears to be the new king of Cannes.
3. Alpha (Dir. Julia Ducournau)
The last time Ducournau was at Cannes was in 2021, when she won the top prize for her film Titane. Alpha is her third feature, and while so far in her young career she has made high-art body horror, this seems to be a new chapter for her. Set during the 1980s, the film is about a teenager getting shunned by her classmates because of a rumor of her being infected with a disease.
2. Sentimental Value (Dir. Joachim Trier)
After the emotional heights of The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier returns with Sentimental Value, another intimate drama. Details are minimal, but Trier’s involvement, along with him reuniting with actress Renata Reinsve, makes it one of the most anticipated entries this year.
1.Nouvelle Vague (Dir. Richard Linklater)
One of the most celebrated American filmmakers, Richard Linklater (Before Trilogy, Dazed and Confused), is back at Cannes for the first time in a decade (Boyhood, 2014). Nouvelle Vague, on paper, seems like it could be one of his best. The film is a telling of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1959 New Wave classic À bout de souffle (Breathless). A love letter to French cinema, it has an almost entirely French cast playing well-known figures from the era. You just can’t be more excited than hanging out in Linklater’s black-and-white Paris.
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