Overview
- Festival organizers, who announced the 79th edition on Thursday in Paris, set the dates for May 12–23 and named 21 films competing from more than 2,500 submissions across roughly 140 countries.
- Spain marks a first with three contenders for the Palme d’Or: Pedro Almodóvar’s Amarga Navidad, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s La bola negra, and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido.
- Festival director Thierry Frémaux framed the selection as more auteur-focused with fewer major Hollywood studio titles, reflecting a broader shift toward independent and international work.
- Park Chan-wook will preside over the main jury, which will announce the awards on May 23.
- Program highlights include Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus électrique as the opening film, honorary Palmes for Barbra Streisand and Peter Jackson, and John Travolta’s directing debut in the Cannes Première section.