With the preview screenings of its Official Selection, the Cannes Film Cannes traditionally offers privileged moments of dialogue and public discussions with the greatest figures of today’s cinema.
This year’s program features four exceptional artists for three highly anticipated talks.
Rendez-vous With Christopher McQuarrie
Wednesday, May 14th at 12:30 pm – Salle Debussy
After presenting “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022 as its producer, Christopher McQuarrie is back to present “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” as its director. While in Cannes, Christopher McQuarrie will meet with audiences. The Oscar-winning screenwriter for Bryan Singer’s “The Usual Suspects,” talented director of “Jack Reacher,” and four films of the “Mission: Impossible” saga has made thrillers his trademark and action cinema the work of a master craftsman.
Because this is the kind of cinema that fascinates cinephiles, listening to him talk about his craft, his world, and his projects will be all the more valuable. This session will highlight the mastery and choreographed precision of his direction, which blossoms with the outstanding acting of Tom Cruise at the top of his game.
Rendez-vous With Robert De Niro
Wednesday May 14th at 3:15 pm – Salle Debussy
There are faces that stand in for the 7th Art, and lines of dialogue that leave an indelible mark on cinephilia. And then, there’s Robert De Niro. The actor, director, producer and artist-activist has become a cinematic legend, with his emblematic, interiorized style, which surfaces in a gentle smile or a harsh gaze. This is why the Festival de Cannes has decided to present him with an honorary Palme d‘or on opening night.
Throughout his filmography, Robert De Niro has expressed the violence of American society in all its subtleties and ambiguities: organized crime taking the place of the state, the trauma of the Vietnam War, and the manipulation of a country by the culture of entertainment.
His public-speaking appearances are particularly rare, and this meeting with festival-goers promises to be one of the highlights of the 2025 Festival.
Rendez-vous With Alexandre Desplat & Guillermo del Toro
A music lesson in partnership with SACEM
Sunday, May 18th at 2:00 pm – Salle Buñuel
Hosted by Stéphane Lerouge, this dialogue between the Academy Award-winning composer and filmmaker will take us behind the scenes of musical creation and plunge us into the heart of the workings of an essential pairing in contemporary cinema.
They will explain why music is an essential dimension of a cinematographic work and why the composer is one of a film’s most essential auteurs. They will also explain how music finds equivalents for materials such as water, for “The Shape of Water” in 2017, or wood for “Pinocchio” in 2022, and how music can reveal the human side of monsters with “Frankenstein,” scheduled for release in autumn 2025.
Alexandre Desplat scored two films in Competition this year, Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” and Tarik Saleh’s “Eagles of the Republic.”
The full lineup for the 2025 Cannes Film Festival can be seen here. The festival runs from May 13th until May 24th.
Are you excited for the 2025 Cannes Film Festival? What do you think of this news? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Which films are you most looking forward to seeing? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.
