Cannes set to open with a 3-film salute to Ukraine and De Niro getting an honorary Palme d'Or

The 78th Cannes Film Festival opens Tuesday with expectations running high for what could be a banner edition.

All of the ingredients - an absurd number of stars, top-tier filmmakers, political intrigue - seem to be lined up for the French Riviera spectacular. Over the next 12 days, Cannes will play host to megawatt premieres including those of "Mission: Impossible - The Final Recoking,” Spike Lee’s "Highest 2 Lowest” and Ari Aster’s "Eddington.”

Things get underway Tuesday with the unveiling of Juliette Binoche’s jury, a three-film tribute to Ukraine and the opening night film, Amélie Bonnin’s French romance "Leave One Day.” At the festival’s opening ceremony, Robert De Niro will receive an honorary Palme d’Or, 49 years after "Taxi Driver” won Cannes' top prize.

Cannes is coming off a 2024 festival that produced a number of eventual Oscar contenders, including "Emilia Perez,” "The Substance,” "Flow” and the best picture winner, "Anora.” Asked if he's feeling the pressure this time around, festival director Thierry Frémaux said the only kind of pressure he believes in is in beer. (Beer on tap in France is "bière à la pression.")

"Indeed last year was a beautiful year,” Frémaux said Monday. "But at the very time when I was with (journalists) as the festival started, we didn’t know if it was going to be a good year or not.”

This year’s Cannes Film Festival, the premier international cinematic gathering, is unspooling following U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for tariffs on movies made overseas. While Fremaux expressed sympathy to the cause of strengthening local movie production, he said it was too soon to comment on the still-unformed plans.

"It’s far too early in the game,” said Fremaux. "But if I say one thing here at the Cannes Film Festival, we wouldn’t want the American cinema to cease to be strong. And right now, it’s very strong.”

Cannes will follow up Tuesday’s festivities with the return Wednesday of Tom Cruise to Cannes. Three years after he brought "Top Gun: Maverick” to the festival, he’s back with the latest "Mission: Impossible” movie.

Twenty-two films will vie for Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. Those films include Wes Anderson’s "The Phoenician Scheme,” Richard Linklater’s "Nouvelle Vague,” Lynne Ramsay’s "Die, My Love,” Joachim Trier’s "Sentimental Value,” Kelly Reichardt’s "The Mastermind,” Oliver Hermanus’ "The History of Sound,” Julia Ducournau’s "Alpha” and Jafar Panahi’s "A Simple Accident.”

Binoche will be leading the jury that picks the Palme d’Or winner, along with jurors including Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong. The festival closes May 24.

Cannes is kicking off the same day Gérard Depardieu, one of France's most famous actors, is to receive a verdict in a closely watched sexual assault case. Depardieu, 76, has been accused of groping two women on the set of the 2022 film "Les Volets Verts.”

In Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, three prominent actors are making their directorial debuts: Harris Dickinson ("Urchin”), Kristen Stewart ("The Chronology of Water”) and Scarlett Johansson ("Eleanor the Great”).

Geopolitics are likely to play a starring role at Cannes, which is beginning by screening three 2025 Ukraine documentaries: "Zelensky,” Bernard-Henri Lévy’s "Notre Guerre” and The Associated Press-Frontline coproduction "2000 Meters to Andriivka,” by "20 Days in Mariupol” Oscar-winner Mstyslav Chernov.

"This ‘Ukraine Day’ is a reminder of the commitment of artists, authors and journalists to tell the story of this conflict in the heart of Europe,” the festival said in a statement.

Cannes will also celebrate its opening by turning to an old favorite. A restoration of Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush” is to debut Tuesday, timed to the film's centenary.

Associated Press