Overview
- Festival leaders revealed most of the 79th edition on Thursday in Paris, confirming 21 competition titles from international auteurs including Paweł Pawlikowski, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Pedro Almodóvar, Hirokazu Kore‑eda, Asghar Farhadi and Cristian Mungiu.
- Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus électrique will open the festival on May 12, with screenings running through May 23 on the French Riviera.
- Park Chan‑wook will preside over the main jury, and Cannes will honor Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand with Honorary Palme d’Or awards.
- John Travolta’s feature directorial debut, Propeller One‑Way Night Coach, will premiere out of competition in the Cannes Premiere section, with U.S. documentaries by Steven Soderbergh and Ron Howard slated as Special Screenings.
- Thierry Frémaux said the studio‑light roster reflects a U.S. industry lull, noting roughly 2,500 submissions from 141 countries and adding that French theatrical rules keep streaming‑only originals out of competition and a few late additions may follow.