Cannes 2025: Film highlights in the shadow of US tariff policy

The 78th Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) was set to be the most spectacular in years. The elite of Hollywood and international film will gather on the Côte d'Azur for two weeks of cinematic celebration. But there's a catch.

Donald Trump as a spoilsport?

US President Donald Trump 's announcement on May 4 that he intends to "make Hollywood great again" by imposing 100 percent tariffs on "foreign-made films" and penalizing US studios that shoot their movies abroad has unsettled and worried filmmakers and moviegoers.

What exactly the US president intends to achieve with this remains unclear. Actor Jon Voight, one of Trump's "special ambassadors" for the entertainment industry, has presented a plan with a whole range of proposals. These include tax incentives for films shot in the US, a new "cultural test" that would require films to contribute to American culture, and fines for film productions shot abroad.

These plans would severely impact the film industry's business; in particular, the production of independent films could be made more difficult or even impossible.

"Everyone is talking about tariffs, but no one knows exactly what they will mean, how they will affect business, and whether they will make it more difficult to produce films," says Pia Patatian, president of Cloud9 Studios, an independent production company based in the US.

Hollywood's international productions under pressure

Many of the biggest and most anticipated American films being shown at Cannes are precisely the kind of "foreign-made" film productions that Trump is railing against with his tariff threat.

Tom Cruise, for example, will bring some action to the festival promenade with "Mission: Impossible - Retaliation." The eighth and presumably final Mission: Impossible film will be shown out of competition at Cannes. As in the previous installments, Cruise, as agent Ethan Hunt, races through various non-American cities around the world, jumps off non-American cliffs, and clings to the landing gear of non-US-made propeller planes as they fly over non-American landscapes.

Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme," the latest work from the director of "Rushmore" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," was shot at Studio Babelsberg, just outside Berlin. The film features a typically Anderson-esque star-studded cast, including Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Jeffrey Wright.

"Nouvelle Vague," a look at the making of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 classic "Breathless," by American indie film legend Richard Linklater ("Before Sunrise," "Boyhood"), was shot entirely in Paris and—quelle horreur!—in French!

"Eddington," the new film by genre cinema grandmaster Ari Aster ("Hereditary," "Midsommar"), was at least filmed in the US. But the film's Covid-era plot, in which a MAGA-style sheriff (played by Joaquin Phoenix) faces off against the local mayor (played by Pedro Pascal), could be interpreted as a provocation against the current US president.

Cannes 2025: Robberies, horror and proven film duos

However, if the festival audience can forget Trump for a while, the 78th edition of Cannes has a lot to offer.

The 2025 Feature Film Competition program is packed with heavyweights known for their unique style.

This includes US indie director Kelly Reichardt, who returns to the Cannes competition with "The Mastermind," an art theft drama starring Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim, and John Magaro, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War .

Iranian director and dissident Jafar Panahi , who has finally been released from prison and is able to travel, will also be in the running with his latest drama "Un Simple Accident" ("A Simple Accident").

Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d'Or in 2021 with her explosive and controversial body horror film "Titane," is also back in competition at Cannes with "Alpha." Set in the 1980s, the film tells the story of a young girl who is rejected by her classmates because of a rumor that she is infected with a new disease.

Germany's contender for the Palme d'Or, Cannes' top prize, is Mascha Schilinski, who is presenting her second feature film, "Sound of Falling," in competition. The drama follows four women from four different eras whose lives are eerily intertwined.

Spike Lee's new film will be screened out of competition at Cannes. The director – who famously refers to Donald Trump as "Agent Orange" – reteamed with Denzel Washington, who plays the lead role in "Highest 2 Lowest." The crime thriller is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese classic "High and Low."

Another famous team on the red carpet comes from Germany: filmmaker Fatih Akin and actress Diane Kruger, who can look back on a highly successful Hollywood career. Both return to Cannes with "Amrum," a drama set in the final days of World War II on the Frisian island of the same name. Their last collaboration, "In the Fade," premiered at Cannes in 2017 and earned Kruger the Best Actress award.

Several prominent figures from the film industry have also stepped behind the camera to direct. Marvel star Scarlett Johansson will present her directorial debut with "Eleanor the Great" in the "Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes. Running in the same section is "Urchin," a British social drama directed by Harris Dickinson, who rose to fame as the shy but thoroughly attractive male model in Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness" (the film won the Palme d'Or in 2022).

Current and more past historical events will also be highlighted in side events in Cannes.

The independent section "The Director's Fortnight", which takes place parallel to the festival, will include "Militantropos": a documentary film by a Ukrainian directing team that examines the effects of the ongoing war on everyday life.

Cannes Premiere, a gala section without competition, will feature "The Wave," a Spanish-language musical by Chilean director Sebastián Lelio. The film is inspired by the feminist protests that erupted across Chile in 2018. Also screening in the gala section will be "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele." The film tells the story of the notorious Auschwitz camp doctor (played by August Diehl), who escaped justice and lived undetected in South America for 30 years.

So there are plenty of films to see, debate, and discuss at Cannes this year - even without mentioning "Agent Orange."

Adapted from English: Anastassia Boutsko