The 79th Cannes Film Festival is drawing to a close this Saturday, with a star-studded awards ceremony set to crown this year’s Palme d’Or winner following two weeks of glitzy premieres, industry parties, and global cinematic showcases. Among the crowded field of standout competitors, one title has risen to the forefront of pundits’ predictions: *Minotaur*, a taut family drama from exiled Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, rooted in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The film centers on a cold, manipulative Russian businessman navigating the chaos of the country’s military mobilization for the war. In an interview with AFP, Zvyagintsev noted that his work carries a clear political message: “Those who agree that it’s time to put an end to this hell, and that it’s a nightmare and a disaster for Russia, those people will understand this film clearly.”
While *Minotaur* holds the top spot among early favorites, it faces stiff competition from a diverse slate of international contenders. Critics also highlight *La Bola Negra*, a high-budget Spanish production exploring multiple queer experiences; the stylized black-and-white historical drama *Fatherland*; and *Fjord*, led by Norwegian star Renate Reinsve. Dark horses in the race include *A Man of His Time*, a historical piece following an ambitious official in France’s World War II collaborationist government, and *All of a Sudden*, the acclaimed quiet drama from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
Deciding the winner will be an international jury led by iconic South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, with panelists including Hollywood A-lister Demi Moore and Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao of *Nomadland* fame. The winner will be revealed during Saturday evening’s closing ceremony. Last year’s top honor went to *It Was Just an Accident*, a political thriller from jailed dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi that examines torture and state violence in the Islamic Republic.
Ahead of the main prize announcement, several awards have already been distributed across the festival’s parallel and side competitions. Iranian documentary *Rehearsals for a Revolution*, directed by exiled actress-filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani about political repression in Iran, took home the festival’s top documentary honor.
In a historic moment for Nepali cinema, *Elephants in the Fog* — the first Nepali feature ever selected for Cannes official competition — claimed the Certain Regard section jury prize. Its entirely transgender cast celebrated the win with song and dance on stage, with lead actor Pushpa Thing Lama wrapping the Nepalese flag around director Abinash Bikram Shah’s neck during an emotional embrace. The Certain Regard top prize went to Austrian director Sandra Wollner for *Everytime*, described by jurors as a “gripping tale on grief.”
In other early awards, 18-year-old Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset took home the best actor honor for his performance in *Congo Boy*, a crowd-pleasing rap drama following a Central African refugee that saw the young actor discovered during an open street casting in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. British director Clio Barnard’s *I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning*, a portrait of five childhood friends that was one of the United Kingdom’s only feature entries at this year’s festival, claimed the top prize at the parallel Directors’ Fortnight section.
While this year’s edition drew its usual share of A-list Hollywood stars from John Travolta to Cate Blanchett, major U.S. studios were notably absent from the lineup. No major American production house opted to premiere a big-budget blockbuster at Cannes this year, following the same absence from the February Berlin International Film Festival — a gap that has sparked industry discussion about why leading studios including Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. are stepping back from major European film events.
Beyond the race for the Palme d’Or, two key industry issues dominated conversation throughout the 11-day festival: the rising role of artificial intelligence in filmmaking production, and ongoing gender imbalance in the industry. Just five out of the 21 films competing for the festival’s top prize this year are directed by women, a statistic that has drawn renewed criticism from advocates calling for more equitable representation in global cinema.