Almost a year ago, Greta Gerwig led a jury at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival that was dominated by members of The Academy. They picked Sean Baker’s “Anora” as the winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or, which went on to win Best Picture, and rewarded two other films that would also earn Best Picture nominations: Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” and Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance.” This year’s jury president is Juliette Binoche, an Oscar-winner herself, and she’ll officially be joined by two American actors and prominent AMPAS members, Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong.
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Joining Berry and Strong are director and screenwriter Payal Kapadia, actress Alba Rohrwacher, writer Leïla Slimani, as director, documentarist and producer Dieudo Hamadi, director and screenwriter Hong Sang-soo, as well as director, screenwriter, and producer Carlos Reygadas. Despite the presence of two Hollywood industry regulars (three if you want to count Binoche), this is one of the more globally diverse juries in some time, with the Congo, Mexico, South Korea, and India being represented. The jury will watch all 21 films in competition before announcing the winner of the Palme d’Or and other honors during the closing ceremony on Saturday, May 24.
This year’s conclave is also one of the least AMPAS member-dominated in almost a decade, with only Binoche, Strong, Berry, Rohrwacher, Sang-soo, and Reygadas currently members. Kapadia is expected to be invited later this year. Slimani and Hamadi are not currently members.
Berry made history in 2003 as the first African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress for “Monster’s Ball.” Her other credits include Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” and “Girl 6,” Warren Beatty’s “Bulworth,” Susanne Bier’s “Things We Lost in the Fire,” and The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer’s “Cloud Atlas.” She’s perhaps best known to the general public for her role as Storm in the “X-Men” franchise, the secret agent Jinx in “Die Another Day,” and for her cult performance in 2004’s “Catwoman.”
Strong was just nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice,” which screened at last year’s festival. He’s best known for his Emmy Award-winning turn in “Succession” and recently won a Tony Award for “An Enemy Of The People.” His other film credits include “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Armageddon Time,” “Detroit,” “The Big Short,” and “Molly’s Game,” among others.
Kapadia won the Grand Prix at least year’s festival for her debut film, “All We Imagine Is Light.” She first came into the global cinephille scene with her 2021 documentary “A Night of Knowing Nothing.”
Slimani is quite well-known in France as an award-winning author and journalist. According to the Festival, “published her first novel in 2014 with Éditions Gallimard, ‘Adele: A Novel,’ which won critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2014 Prix de Flore. Her second novel, also published by Gallimard, ‘Lullaby,’ won the Prix Goncourt 2016 and the Grand Prix des lectrices Elle 2017. It was adapted for the cinema in 2019, starring Karin Viard and Leïla Bekhti. She then published three other novels with Éditions Gallimard: The country of others (Grand Prix de l’héroïne Madame Figaro 2020), ‘Watch Us Dance’ and ‘J’emporterai le feu.’ In, 2020 was awarded the Prix Simone de Beauvoir for her fight for women’s rights. In 2024, she co-wrote the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games with Thomas Jolly.”
Hamadi is a documentary and narrative filmmaker whose 2020 feature “Downstream to Kinshasa” was part of the 2020 Cannes selection. His other works include 2013’s “Atalaku,” 2014’s “National Diploma” (2014), and 2017’s “Mama Colonel.”
Sang-soo has had four films in competition at Cannes: 2004’s “Woman is the Future of Man,” 2005’s “Tale of Cinema,” 2012’s “In Another Country,” and 2017’s “The Day After.” He’s had another four films screen in Un Certain Regard: 1998’s “The Power of Kangkwon Province,” 2000’s “Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors,” 2010’s “Hahaha,” and 2011’s ‘The Day He Arrives,” which won him the Un Certain Regard Prize.
Reygadas won the Camera d’Or Special Distinction for his first film, 2002’s “Japón.” His second feature, 2005’s “Battle in Heaven,” was selected for competition, as was 2007’s “Silent Light,” which won a Jury Prize. In 2012, he won Best Director at the festival for “Post Tenebras Lux.” His other films include 2009’s “Serenghetti” and 2018’s “Our Time.”
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to 24. Look for continuing coverage, including previews, interviews, and reviews on The Playlist.
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