As the 78th Cannes Film Festival wraps up with an array of daring films, lingering political resonances, and red-carpet reconstructions, what remains is more than glitz. It is the weight of narrative—especially important in today’s world, which demands nothing less than authenticity.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival came to a close amid shining sunsets on the famed Croisette as the final credits rolled, after a wild show of ambition, bravery, and metamorphoses in the cinema.
The festival this year reaffirmed that this is not an arena for film premieres; it is a place for the birth of ideas, the controversies ripple, and where art intersects with social responsibility.
Juliette Binoche, quietly intense and graceful, presided over the jury and led the deliberations. The official awards have yet to be conferred, but quite a few films have already acquired massive momentum.
The entry of Harris Dickinson into direction with Urchin presented in the Un Certain Regard (A Certain Glance) section was marked by a distinctive humanism in portraying the journey of a homeless man toward regaining his life interspersed with light comedy and deep emotionality.
Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water, her first feature film, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s autobiographical novel, was noted for its unapologetic yet sensitive depiction of trauma, identity, and sexuality, effectively cementing Stewart’s credentials as a director to watch.
But it wasn’t just the first-time directors who made waves.
Wes Anderson’s movie, The Phoenician Scheme, received accolades for the world it successfully created within the movie and the satirical undertones it employed.
Jennifer Lawrence created buzz with her surprising character in Eden’s Wake, a film which she starred in and co-produced, and which used speculative storytelling as a tool to grapple with climate grief. Eden’s Wake was one of the more talked-about films, in part due to Lawrence, as well as the weight of the subject matter of the film, and the heaviness of each question that the film posed.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Strong’s depiction of Roy Cohn in The Apprentice was praised with an equal amount of uneasiness. The most direct confrontation in competition, the film probed the reasons behind political spin. “The power of the artist in this post-truth world,” said Strong, rippling through pressrooms and social feeds alike.
Television powerhouse and star of one of the longest running shows, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Mariska Hargitay made her feature-film directorial debut with the documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered in the Cannes Classics section. The film is a deeply personal story and about her late mother, Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield. It includes never-before-seen photographs and home movies, along with interviews with family—unearthing long-held family secrets, including the identity of her biological father. My Mom Jayne received a four-minute standing ovation at its Cannes debut, and it will have a limited release in theatres and stream on HBO as well.
On the fashion front, red carpet rules reshaped celebrity style. The soft draping of sheer dresses and flowing trains was replaced by added structure and tailoring to accentuate the form instead.
Cara Delevingne debuted an intense change, going from light-brown to jet-black hair and blunt fringe, wearing a conservative burgundy ballgown that was actually in compliance with the festival’s updated dress code. A bit of a surprise.
At 95, June Squibb graced the premiere of Eleanor the Great, dressed in a custom floor-length floral dress, demonstrating her presence with a stamp of old-world charm.
Alexander Skarsgard confronted the dress code by coming out in high leather boots and a Loewe ensemble with adult overtones that truly suited the theme of his movie, Pillion.
Pedro Pascal also broke barriers beyond acting in the red-carpet context, wearing a revealing Calvin Klein top which worked towards a new depiction of male sensuality on the red carpet.
Angelina Jolie made a poignant return to the red carpet with her signature elegance, paying tribute to a fallen journalist. She attended the premiere of Eddington (starring Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix) in a champagne-hued gown from Brunello Cucinelli’s Fall-Winter 2025 collection.
Beyond fashion, Jolie spoke about Fatima Hassouna, highlighting the unforgettable loss and her important work. Jolie’s presence at Cannes 2025 celebrated moviemaking and the memory of bitter loss, reminding the audience that Cannes is not only a place for art but also stands for advocacy.
Everything is in contradiction, the pageantry and the politics, the luxury and loss; and that is why Cannes is the fiercest arena for cinema.
A place where, for 12 incredible days, stories are more than just entertainment: they are a reckoning and a reminder. The world moves on; Cannes lingers—a mirror held up to our collective face, asking, as it always does, what will you do with the story next?
