Cannes Opens With 22-Film Competition, Honors for Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand

Overview

• The festival, which opens Tuesday and runs through May 23, sets a 22-film competition that includes 11 directors new to the main lineup.
• South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook leads the jury after organizers reviewed about 2,500 submissions from 141 countries.
• The selection tilts toward historical and political stories, with films revisiting the French Resistance and Vichy era, a Spanish Civil War drama, and high-profile out-of-competition titles such as a De Gaulle biopic.
• Major U.S. studios are skipping the Croisette this year, yet stars including John Travolta, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Rami Malek, Woody Harrelson, and Kristen Stewart are expected to attend.
• Peter Jackson receives an honorary Palme d’or during the festival and Barbra Streisand is set to be honored at the May 23 closing ceremony, as leaders also vow not to let artificial intelligence dictate cinema.