It was quite a surprise earlier this month after the 2025 Cannes Film Festival lineup was announced that Thierry Frémaux picked a feature debut to open the film. A director’s first feature-length project opening the world’s most prestigious festival? It’s never happened until now, in the festival’s 78th year.
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But on closer examination, it makes a lot of sense that Amélie Bonnin‘s “Leave One Day” kicks off Cannes 2025. Bonnin won a Cesar Award in 2023 for a short film of the same name, and her new film features two of France’s rising stars: singer Juliette Armanet and Bastien Boullion (who won a Cesar of his own in 2023). This is the next generation of French filmmaking, and Frémaux clearly wants to champion it with “Leave One Day” leading the way on the Croisette this year.
“Leave One Day” stars Armanet as Cécile, a Parisian chef aiming to open a gourmet restaurant who has to put her dreams on hold after her father suffers a heart attack. Back in her hometown, she unexpectedly runs into Boullion’s Raphaël, her teenage crush, and their chance encounter forces her to reckon with the past and reconsider the current direction of her life.
Bonnin co-writes the romantic dramedy musical with Dimitri Lucas, and features an electic soundtrack that ranges from Stromae to Céline Dion. “Leave One Day” is a Topshot Films and Les Films du Worso production, co-produced with Pathé and France 3 Cinéma. Canal+, Ciné+/OCS and France Télévision serve as broadcast partners, with Pathé International handling world sales at the Cannes market.
“Leave One Day” hits Frenchtheaters the same day it opens Cannes, on May 23; stay tuned for a US release date. Check out the French-language trailer for the 2025 Cannes opener below.
