Cannes 2025: ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Wins Palme d’Or Amid Strong Year for Global Cinema

cannes-2025The 78th Cannes Film Festival concluded with Iranian director Jafar Panahi winning the Palme d’Or for It Was Just an Accident, a tense moral thriller inspired by his own imprisonment in Iran. The film, which follows a group of former detainees confronting their alleged torturer, marked Panahi’s first in-person appearance at Cannes in over two decades. His emotional return and the film’s urgent themes of oppression and justice drew widespread acclaim and a standing ovation at the ceremony.

Panahi, long banned from leaving Iran, dedicated the prize to artists exiled from their home countries. His win also extended indie distributor Neon’s streak to six consecutive Palme d’Or victories, including previous titles like Parasite and Anora.

Beyond Panahi’s triumph, the festival showcased a wide range of standout films. Joachim Trier won the Grand Prix for Sentimental Value, while the Jury Prize was split between Óliver Laxe’s Sirât and Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling. Brazil’s The Secret Agent took home Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura. Best Actress went to Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister.

The Camera d’Or for best first film was awarded to Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake, the first Iraqi film to win at Cannes. A special award was given to Bi Gan for Resurrection.

Despite a power outage affecting the region hours before the ceremony, the festival concluded without major disruption, ending what many considered one of Cannes’ strongest years in recent memory.

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Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague Premieres at Cannes, First Trailer Released

nouvelle-vagueRichard Linklater’s latest film, Nouvelle Vague, premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking the director’s first French-language feature. Shot in black and white and entirely in French, the film is a dramatized account of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s landmark 1960 film Breathless.

Nouvelle Vague reconstructs the early days of the French New Wave through the lens of Godard’s directorial process, using a cast of mostly new French actors to mirror the spirit of the movement. Guillaume Marbeck plays Godard in his feature debut, alongside Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo. Additional cast members include Paolo Luka Noé, Alix Bénézech, and Jade Phan-Gia.

The film is co-written by Linklater with Vince Palmo, Michèle Halberstadt, Laetitia Masson, and Holly Gent, with cinematography by David Chambille. International sales are being handled by Goodfellas. The project follows Linklater’s other recent 2025 release, Blue Moon, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

The teaser trailer, now released, offers a stylized preview of Nouvelle Vague, combining footage with a French voiceover listing key elements of the story: “A pretty boy. A pretty girl. Paris 1959. A gym. A director. A camera…”

The film is expected to be released in theaters on October 8.

Watch the teaser trailer for Nouvelle Vague below:

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Dag Johan Haugerud’s Sex Opens at Film Forum

Dag-Johan-Haugerud-SexThe 2024 Norwegian drama Sex, directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, will have its U.S. theatrical premiere on Friday, June 13 at Film Forum in New York. The film is the second in Haugerud’s Love–Sex–Dreams: The Oslo Trilogy, a series of standalone features examining nontraditional forms of intimacy and emotional honesty in modern relationships.

Set in Oslo, Sex follows two male-identified colleagues—both in heterosexual marriages—as they confront aspects of their sexuality and identity that challenge traditional gender roles and relationship norms. One man discloses a recent sexual encounter with another man, while the other wrestles with recurring dreams involving David Bowie and questions of gender fluidity. The narrative focuses on their efforts to communicate these experiences with their wives, exploring themes of vulnerability, trust, and the complexity of love within the framework of monogamous relationships.

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, where it received the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film in the Panorama section. Haugerud, also an acclaimed novelist, is known for using restrained storytelling to depict nuanced emotional and social dynamics.

Sex is the second installment in The Oslo Trilogy. The first film, Love, opens at Film Forum on Friday, May 16, with Haugerud scheduled to appear for post-screening Q&As on Friday, May 16 (7:45 PM) and Saturday, May 17 (5:15 PM). The final film in the trilogy, Dreams, which won the Golden Bear at the 2025 Berlinale, is slated to open at Film Forum on Friday, September 12.

Each of the trilogy’s films is self-contained and can be viewed independently, though they are thematically linked by their exploration of intimacy, desire, and identity in contemporary Norwegian society.

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Jia Zhangke’s “Caught by the Tides” Opens in Theaters Nationwide

caught-by-the-tides-posterCaught by the Tides, the latest film from acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, is now playing in New York and will open in theaters nationwide this weekend.

The film spans more than two decades of footage, blending archival and newly shot material to tell a love story set against the backdrop of modern China’s societal changes. Zhao Tao stars in the leading role, with the film tracing her journey through shifting landscapes and turbulent times.

Jia, known for works such as Platform, Still Life, A Touch of Sin, and Ash Is Purest White, continues his exploration of contemporary Chinese life with a focus on personal and collective memory.

Caught by the Tides has screened at major international festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, New York Film Festival, BFI London, AFI Fest, and Rotterdam. It has received praise from a range of critics, described as “a masterpiece” (New York Magazine), “deeply touching” (The New York Times), and “carefully crafted to break your heart” (Rolling Stone).

Watch the trailer below.

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René Clément’s “Forbidden Games” New 4K Restoration At Film Forum

forbidden-games“Forbidden Games”, the 1952 French war drama by René Clément based on François Boyer’s novel Les Jeux Interdits, will run in a new 4K restoration at Film Forum from Friday, May 9 to Thursday, May 15.

“Michel! Michel! Michel!” France 1940, as a refugee column trudges along a country road, a dog makes a break for it, with its tiny blonde mistress in pursuit — and then the German fighters strike. But if 5-year-old Brigitte Fossey’s understanding of death is limited as she strokes her mother’s cold face, at least she can bury the dog discarded by her peasant rescuers, aided by 11-year-old farm boy Georges Poujouly. As they build a special, secret friendship, their pet cemetery steadily grows, topped by crosses stolen from graveyards, even as the adults play their own games of grotesque peasant feuds… And then Fossey (“in a performance that rips the heart out” – The New York Times) shouts his name again.

A masterpiece of French post-war cinema by director René Clément (who would make the classic thriller Purple Noon, starring Alain Delon, eight years later), adapted by the legendary team of Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost from Boyer’s successful novel, with a haunting hit score played by guitar virtuoso Narciso Yepes, the ultimately beautiful, hilarious and disturbing “Forbidden Games” initially did so-so box office and screened only on the fringes of the Cannes Festival, then nearly got shut out of Venice — where it promptly won its top prize, the Golden Lion — and then became a worldwide art house smash and Clément’s second Best Foreign Film Oscar winner (following the previous year’s The Walls of Malapaga).

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Claude Lelouch’s “A Man And A Woman” New Restoration

a-man-and-a-womanClaude Lelouch’s arthouse classic A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée, will run at Film Forum from Friday, April 4 to Thursday, April 17, in a new restoration supervised by the director. Mr. Lelouch will appear in person at screenings on opening weekend, as well as at a special screening of his latest film, the comedy-drama FINALEMENT, on Thursday, April 3.

In A MAN AND A WOMAN, race car driver Jean-Louis Trintignant and “la scripte-girl” Anouk Aimée meet at their kids’ boarding school, and then the flashbacks and Francis Lai’s can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head main love theme begin, in the undeniably romantic international smash hit – winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, two Academy Awards® (Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay), and two nominations (Best Director and Best Actress).

Lelouch’s LA BONNE ANNÉE, CAT AND MOUSE, LES UNS ET LES AUTRES, AND NOW MY LOVE, and LES MISÉRABLES will also be shown during the run of A MAN AND A WOMAN.
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François Ozon’s Thriller “When Fall Is Coming”

when-fall-is-comingFrançois Ozon’s “When Fall Is Coming is set for US theatrical premiere release by Film Forum on Friday, April 4.

Acclaimed French stage actress Hélène Vincent is Michelle, a kindly grandmother who nurtures her garden in a quiet Burgundy village, attends church, and sees her longtime friend, Marie-Claude. But don’t be fooled by the apparent tranquility – WHEN FALL IS COMING is another twisty drama from François Ozon, with a disdainful daughter (Ludivine Sagnier of Ozon’s SWIMMING POOL), wild poisonous mushrooms, and a son who’s recently out of prison stacking up against Michelle’s peaceful retirement.

The film will be featured in the upcoming Rendez-Vous with French Cinema festival, screening at Walter Reade Theater on Friday, March 7, 3:30 PM and Sunday, March 16, 5:45 PM. A limited number of press tickets are available to this screening.

WHEN FALL IS COMING had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen at the San Sebastian International Film Festival where it was awarded the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Performance (Pierre Lottin). Hélène Vincent was nominated for the 2025 César Award for Best Actress for her role.

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Cannes Prize-Winner “Holy Cow” Coming-of-Age Drama Opens at Film Forum

holy-cowFilm Forum has set the US theatrical premiere of Louise Courvoisier’s “Holy Cow” on Friday, March 28.

HOLY COW had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, where it was awarded the festival’s Youth Prize.

It will be featured in the upcoming Rendez-Vous with French Cinema festival, screening at Walter Reade Theater on Saturday, March 8. A limited number of press tickets are available to this screening.

The film’s synopsis says: Reveling in his youth in the gorgeous rural Jura region of Eastern France, Totone has few worries and is content to party with his friends as the family dairy business hums along. But when calamity strikes, the under-disciplined 18-year-old finds himself in charge of the farm and his 7-year-old sister. A sun-drenched coming-of-age story cast with non-professionals from Jura (filmmaker Courvoisier’s home), HOLY COW follows Totone’s determination to win a local Comté cheesemaking competition (cash prize: €30,000), while he romantically pursues a competing farmer — whose bullying brothers are none-too-pleased — and clumsily steps up to adult responsibilities.

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Lou Ye’s Docufiction AN UNFINISHED FILM + Four Ye Features | Opening March 14 at Film Forum

an-unfinished-filmFilm Forum has announce the US theatrical premiere of Lou Ye’s AN UNFINISHED FILM on Friday, March 14.

Using outtakes and on-set footage from SUZHOU RIVER and other films (SPRING FEVER, MYSTERY, THE SHADOW PLAY), and casting real actors from these films to play themselves, Lou creates an intense yet playful catharsis for filmmakers, artists, and, ultimately, all of us — a chance to revisit that time, and to heal.

In this enthralling, poignant docufiction, director Lou Ye (SUZHOU RIVER) and his crew reunite in Wuhan in January 2020 to complete a film started a decade earlier. When the first wave of COVID precipitates lockdown and fear, this story of revived artistic vision pivots to a thriller-paced account of the early spread of the virus — both the devastation and the deep connections borne of shared isolation.

AN UNFINISHED FILM had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section and was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, MoMA Doc Fortnight, and more.


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Jean-Luc Godard’s “A Woman Is A Woman” At Film Forum

a-woman-is-a-womanA WOMAN IS A WOMAN, writer/director Jean-Luc Godard’s “subversive” color and Scope tribute to the Hollywood musical comedy, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Claude Brialy, and the director’s then-wife and muse Anna Karina, will run at Film Forum from Friday, February 7 to Thursday, February 20, in a new 4K restoration being shown for the first time in the United States.

“I want to be in a musical with Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly… choreographed by Bob Fosse!” declares Karina, and she almost gets her wish in this first color, Scope, and partly studio-shot film by her then-husband, the second (following LE PETIT SOLDAT) of their seven and a half collaborations. Karina’s Angela — an afternoon dancer in the sleazy Zodiac Club – yearns for motherhood, but live-in boyfriend Brialy “isn’t ready yet,” while hanger-on Belmondo is more than happy to oblige.
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