• John Travolta, 72, debuted a dramatically new look at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, complete with a cream beret, round glasses, and a trimmed beard
• The internet erupted with reactions, with many fans saying the Grease and Pulp Fiction star was nearly unrecognizable
• Travolta was surprised onstage with an honorary Palme d’Or by festival head Thierry Frémaux just before his film’s screening
• His directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, is based on a children’s book he wrote in 1997 and co-stars his daughter Ella Bleu
• The film has landed to mixed-to-negative reviews, though the night itself was undeniably a major moment for the Hollywood veteran

John Travolta walked the Cannes red carpet on Friday night and the internet has not recovered. The 72-year-old star showed up to the premiere of his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, wearing a cream-colored wool beret, circular wire-rimmed glasses, a sharply groomed beard, and a three-piece black suit layered over a knit vest — finished with a white shirt, white tie, a pocket square, and black patent-leather loafers. It was, to put it mildly, a look.

Fans who have followed Travolta for decades did an immediate double take. “WHO is that and what have they done with John Travolta?!” one person wrote online. Another admitted, “I had to zoom in to verify it is indeed him.”

The reactions came fast and they came funny. “Not the LL Cool J, unc,” one Threads user wrote. “What do they mean ‘unrecognizable’ — John Travolta has paid a lot of money to look like Jack Harlow,” said another. Someone on X asked, “When did John Travolta become Samuel L. Jackson?” while another commenter went full cinephile: “Looks like he woke up from a coma thinking he was the other star from Pulp Fiction.” The beard in particular divided people — “That chinstrap is killing my eyes, absolutely hideous,” one fan wrote, while another went poetic: “It must be so nice to have so much money you can dress like a surrealist painter on the Left Bank of Paris in the 1930s.”

And then there was this, perhaps the most succinct take of the evening: “Either that white ain’t cracking or bro a vampire.”

The beret, it turns out, isn’t just a one-night thing. In a behind-the-scenes Instagram video, Travolta can be seen piloting his own plane to Cannes — because of course he did, the man is a licensed pilot — wearing an askew navy beret with a matching suede jacket set as he sits in the cockpit alongside Ella. On Saturday, he was spotted again in an all-black ensemble with a matching chapeau. The beret may be his new signature, and honestly, Cannes is the right place to commit to that particular bit.

A Surprise That Stopped the Room

Whatever the internet thought of the look, what happened inside the Debussy Theater before the screening was genuinely moving. Festival artistic director Thierry Frémaux brought out an honorary Palme d’Or — completely unannounced — and presented it to Travolta onstage. Frémaux called him “one of the greatest actors” and, by another account, “one of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.”

Travolta clutched his chest. He looked stunned.

“I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected,” he told the crowd. “You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this.” Then he looked out at the room and said what everyone in Hollywood has quietly thought for years: “This is beyond the Oscar.”

It’s an honor that puts him in serious company. Tom Cruise received an honorary Palme d’Or in 2022. Peter Jackson was honored at this year’s opening ceremony. Barbra Streisand is set to receive hers later in the festival. For Travolta — whose career has included Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Pulp Fiction, along with one of Hollywood’s most remarkable comeback arcs — the recognition landed.

The Film Itself Is a Different Story

Propeller One-Way Night Coach — its full French title is Vol de Nuit pour Los Angeles — is based on a children’s book Travolta wrote in 1997. He wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which centers on a young airplane enthusiast traveling to Hollywood with his mother. Ella Bleu Travolta co-stars alongside her father, making it very much a family affair. Travolta described the story as deeply personal: “It’s really a mixture of my sister and my mother because they both influenced me so deeply, and they were responsible for all my hopes and dreams, and they watched me make them come true.”

The film runs just under an hour and is heading to Apple TV+ later this month — which made its Cannes slot unusual, given the festival’s traditional resistance to streaming titles. The reviews have been, to be generous, complicated.

The Wrap said it “feels like it may have actually been directed by an alien discovering human interaction for the first time.” RogerEbert.com was kinder in spirit if not in verdict: “It’s a gift that Travolta made for himself and family, something he likely wanted to leave as a part of his legacy. That doesn’t make it a good movie.” The BBC called it “a dud” and used it as a case study in why great actors can be bad directors. The Guardian landed somewhere in the middle — “a sweet, odd diversion — more eccentric, maybe, than Travolta intended” — and Screen Daily settled on “an authentic and genuine oddity of a project.”

None of that seemed to dampen the night for Travolta, who has been relatively private since losing his son Jett in 2009 and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, to cancer in 2020. His public appearances have been fewer and more deliberate. This one — his first time at Cannes since 2018 — was clearly planned to mean something.

And whatever the critics make of the film, the man showed up, wore the hat, took the award, and said what he felt. That’s pretty much always been the John Travolta move.

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• John Travolta received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes ahead of his directorial debut’s world premiere
• A visibly emotional Travolta called the honor “beyond the Oscar”
• His debut film Propeller One-Way Night Coach is based on his own 1997 children’s novel and streams May 29 on Apple TV+
• Travolta’s daughter Ella Bleu Travolta walked the red carpet with him and appears in the film
• Cannes has gifted surprise honorary Palmes before — Tom Cruise got one in 2022, Spike Lee last year

John Travolta wasn’t expecting it — and that’s exactly what made it so beautiful. The legendary actor arrived at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night to premiere his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, and walked away with something he never saw coming: an honorary Palme d’Or, the festival’s equivalent of a lifetime achievement prize.

Festival artistic director Thierry Frémaux presented the award just before the film’s world premiere at the Debussy Theater, and Travolta’s reaction said everything. He clutched his chest, visibly overwhelmed, tears in his eyes. When he finally found his words, they landed perfectly.

“You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this,” Travolta told the crowd. “This is a humbling moment. This is beyond the Oscar.”

Frémaux, for his part, made clear how much the moment meant to the festival as well. He revealed that Propeller was actually the very first film selected for the 79th edition of Cannes, and called Travolta “one of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st century.” Travolta, who described himself as “humble and shy” when he first brought the project to the festival, had his own emotional response to learning his film was accepted so early: “When you told me this would be the earliest film accepted, I cried.”

A Personal Film, A Full-Circle Cannes Moment

Propeller One-Way Night Coach — which Travolta wrote, directed and co-produced — is based on his own 1997 children’s novel of the same name. The autobiographical family story is set during the golden age of aviation and follows a young airplane enthusiast named Jeff (played by Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) as they embark on a cross-country flight to Hollywood. Olga Hoffmann also stars.

And keeping it all in the family: Travolta’s daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, 26, walked the red carpet with her father — he in a white beret, the two of them radiant together — and she also appears in the film, playing a flight attendant. “What a night for me, thank you all for being here and for witnessing my directorial debut,” Travolta said. “It’s a very personal film.”

The Cannes connection runs deep for Travolta. The festival has been part of his story for decades — Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, which famously revived Travolta’s career, premiered here in 1994 and went on to win the Palme d’Or. She’s So Lovely played in competition in 1997 (earning co-star Sean Penn the best actor prize), and Primary Colors screened out of competition in 1998. Grease and Saturday Night Fever have both had their Cannes beach screening moments too. Friday night felt like the culmination of all of it.

Cannes’ Tradition of the Beautiful Surprise

Frémaux has made something of an art form out of these unexpected honors. Tom Cruise received a surprise honorary Palme in 2022 ahead of the Top Gun: Maverick premiere, and last year Spike Lee was surprised with one before his film Highest 2 Lowest screened. This year, Cannes had already announced that Peter Jackson would receive an honorary Palme at the opening ceremony and that Barbra Streisand would get one at closing night — but Travolta’s was the one nobody saw coming.

That’s the thing about the best Cannes moments. They sneak up on you.

Propeller One-Way Night Coach begins streaming May 29 on Apple TV+.

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• The 79th Cannes Film Festival kicked off Tuesday, May 12, running through May 23 when the Palme d’Or will be awarded
• Peter Jackson received an honorary Palme d’Or, introduced by Elijah Wood — his Frodo Baggins — in a genuinely moving ceremony moment
• Jane Fonda, 88, and Gong Li officially opened the festival with Fonda delivering a fiery speech about cinema as resistance
• Jury president Park Chan-wook and screenwriter Paul Laverty didn’t hold back on politics, with Laverty calling out Hollywood for “blacklisting” Gaza critics
• James Franco made a surprise appearance on the red carpet, and Guillermo del Toro returned with a 4K restoration of Pan’s Labyrinth

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival opened Tuesday on the French Riviera with the kind of night that reminded everyone why this festival still matters — part glamour, part provocation, part genuine cinematic love letter. Twelve days of premieres are now officially underway, all building toward the Palme d’Or ceremony on May 23.

The Grand Théâtre Lumière hosted the opening ceremony, led by French-Malian actress Eye Haïdara, and from the very first moments it was clear this wouldn’t be a quiet, self-congratulatory affair. There was a massive backdrop of Thelma and Louise — this year’s festival poster — looming over the stage. There were political speeches. There was a blood-red, slightly eerie performance of the Beatles’ “Get Back.” And yes, James Franco was there.

Peter Jackson’s Honorary Palme d’Or — and a Beatles Serenade

The emotional centerpiece of the evening was the tribute to Peter Jackson, who received an honorary Palme d’Or for a career that includes, among other things, convincing the world that three very long films about hobbits were a good idea. Elijah Wood — who played Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy — introduced his director with warmth, speaking about how even Jackson’s most technically massive, complicated films are always, at their core, infused with heart.

Jackson, shaggy-haired and characteristically self-deprecating, took the stage and immediately made the room laugh. “I’ve never figured out why I’m getting a Palme d’Or,” he said. “I’m not a Palme d’Or sorta guy.” He also recalled previewing footage from the Lord of the Rings at Cannes back in 2001, when plenty of skeptics thought the whole thing might be a wildly expensive disaster — and credited the festival’s early support with helping silence those doubts. His best line of the night: the award was, he joked, “Cannes’s apology for not giving Bad Taste the Palme d’Or in 1988.”

Jackson was then serenaded with “Get Back” — a nod to his acclaimed 2021 Beatles documentary — and sat stage right mouthing the words. The performance, delivered by two French women against blood-red lighting, was reportedly a little unsettling in person, but the sentiment landed. Peter Jackson’s kids, Billy and Katie, were in the audience to share the moment. Elijah Wood brought his wife, Mette-Marie Kongsved.

Jane Fonda Gets Fiery, Gong Li Brings the Elegance

The honor of officially declaring the 79th Cannes Film Festival open went to two icons: Jane Fonda, 88, and Chinese-Singaporean actress Gong Li. Fonda, wearing Gucci, wasted no time going there.

“I believe that cinema has always been an act of resistance because we tell the stories and stories are what make a civilization,” she said from the stage. “Stories that bring empathy to the marginalized, stories that allow us to feel across difference, stories that let us see that there is an alternative future that is possible. Standing beside Li tonight, I’m reminded why this festival matters. Here in Cannes, story comes first — the courage to tell it comes first. So let’s celebrate audacity, freedom, and the fierce act of creation.”

It was the kind of speech that gets a standing ovation. And it set the tone for what followed.

The Jury Didn’t Come to Make Nice

The jury introduction — where the nine members who will decide the Palme d’Or are formally presented to the world — turned into one of the more charged moments of the night. Jury president Park Chan-wook, the South Korean filmmaker behind Oldboy and No Other Choice, is the first Korean jury president in Cannes history. He spoke about the weight of judging 22 films in competition with “thoughtfulness,” and offered a line that’s already being quoted widely: “Art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other. One cannot disqualify a film on the pretext that it has a political message. Just as one cannot reject a film because it would not be political enough.”

He also referenced a conversation with fellow jury member Paul Laverty — the Scottish screenwriter who has long collaborated with director Ken Loach — about whether creative partners fight or argue. “I asked Paul Laverty over there if he fought a lot with Ken Loach when they were working together, and he said, ‘We argued a lot but we didn’t fight,'” Park said. “Our jurors will do the same. To everyone here today, I sincerely hope that you don’t fight with the people around you, but you argue sufficiently.”

Laverty himself was more blunt. Pointing to the Thelma and Louise festival poster, he invoked what he called “genocide in Gaza” and quoted King Lear: “Madmen lead the blind.” Then he called out Hollywood directly. “Isn’t it fascinating to see some of them like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?” he said. “Shame on Hollywood people who do that.”

The rest of the nine-member jury includes Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, and Isaach De Bankolé. And then there’s Demi Moore — who two years ago was celebrated at this very festival for her comeback performance in The Substance, and who showed up Tuesday night in a custom Jacquemus corset gown with Chopard jewelry, looking every bit like someone who’s made her peace with the Croisette.

James Franco, Guillermo del Toro, and the Rest of Day One

Cannes has a long history of welcoming figures who’ve had a complicated reception back home — the festival famously opened in 2023 with a Johnny Depp film. Tuesday’s equivalent was James Franco, 48, who turned up at the opening ceremony in a Giorgio Armani tuxedo alongside girlfriend Izabel Pakzad. Franco also attended in 2024. In 2021, he and co-defendants settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million over allegations involving students at an acting school he founded.

On a warmer note, Guillermo del Toro returned to the Croisette to screen a 4K restoration of Pan’s Labyrinth, exactly 20 years after the film premiered here. The dark fantasy — about a young girl and a fascist military captain in 1940s Spain — has only grown more resonant, and del Toro said as much. “We are, unfortunately, in times that make this movie more pertinent than ever because they tell us everything is useless to resist, that art can be done with a f—ing app,” he said.

The opening film screened that evening was Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus Électrique (also known as The Electric Kiss), with the ceremony itself closed out by a performance from Theodora and Oklou.

The Fashion, Even Without the Usual Hollywood Crowd

This year’s festival has noticeably fewer big American titles in competition — only two U.S. films made the lineup — which means the usual parade of Hollywood A-listers is thinner than normal. But the red carpet held its own. Moore’s custom Jacquemus was a standout. Heidi Klum arrived in Elie Saab Couture. Emily in Paris star Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu wore an airy purple Saint Laurent gown by Antony Vaccarello. Maika Monroe stepped out in Ashi Studio. Maura Higgins of The Traitors wore Andrew Kwon.

Over the next two weeks, the Croisette is expected to draw Scarlett Johansson (whose new film Paper Tiger, co-starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller, is in the lineup), Rami Malek, Javier Bardem, Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve, Sebastian Stan, Charles Melton, and Sandra Hüller. Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close are expected for The Black Ball. Anticipated filmmakers include Pedro Almodóvar, James Gray, Cristian Mungiu, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Diego Luna.

The Palme d’Or will be awarded May 23. Park Chan-wook has his jury. The films are queued up. And if day one is any indication, nobody came here to stay quiet.

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• The 79th Cannes Film Festival opened Tuesday in the South of France, running through May 23
• Peter Jackson receives an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony, presented by Elijah Wood
• Hollywood studios are largely absent this year, with costs and a rocky reception climate keeping them away
• Demi Moore joins Park Chan-wook, Chloé Zhao, and Stellan Skarsgård on the nine-member jury
• Neon has backed the last six Palme d’Or winners and holds a stake in over a quarter of this year’s competition films

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The 79th Cannes Film Festival is officially underway on the French Riviera, and while the Hollywood machine is notably quieter than usual, the Côte d’Azur is anything but short on glamour. Twelve days of world premieres kicked off Tuesday, with the whole thing wrapping May 23 when the jury hands out the Palme d’Or — one of the most coveted trophies in all of cinema.

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The opening night belonged to The Electric Kiss, a French period-comedy, and to a moment that had Lord of the Rings fans feeling all kinds of nostalgic: director Peter Jackson received an honorary Palme d’Or. Elijah Wood — who arrived in Nice on Monday with his wife, Mette-Marie Kongsved — was on hand to present the honor to his former director. It was the kind of full-circle moment Cannes does better than anywhere else.

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Before the first film even screened, arrivals at the Nice airport set the tone. Demi Moore touched down ready for business — she’s serving on the jury this year alongside Oldboy director Park Chan-wook (who serves as jury president), Nomadland‘s Chloé Zhao, actor Stellan Skarsgård, and others including Ruth Negga and Isaach De Bankole. Heidi Klum also made her annual pilgrimage to the carpet, where she reliably delivers some of the festival’s most talked-about fashion moments. Even Nathan Mitchell, fresh off the end of The Boys, was spotted making his way into town.

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Moore’s connection to Cannes runs deeper than jury duty. Her film The Substance premiered here in 2024, with writer-director Coralie Fargeat taking home the Best Screenplay award. Coming back in an official capacity feels like a full-circle moment for her too.

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Hollywood’s Quiet Year on the Croisette

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What everyone keeps talking about, though, is what’s missing. Previous editions have welcomed blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis with open arms. This year, the studio presence is almost nonexistent — the closest thing to a marquee Hollywood moment is an anniversary celebration for the Fast & Furious franchise.

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Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux addressed it head-on in a press briefing Monday, acknowledging that Hollywood “is reshaping” amid the ongoing turbulence of Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Studios, he suggested, have been either spooked by the prospect of a chilly critical reception or simply unwilling to absorb the expense of flying A-list talent to the South of France right now.

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“I hope the studio films will come back,” Frémaux said.

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But the filmmaker lineup this year is genuinely stacked. Pedro Almodóvar brings Bitter Christmas. James Gray unveils Paper Tiger. South Korean director Na Hong-jin, whose previous work has been nothing short of electric, arrives with Hope. Pawel Pawlikowski (Ida, Cold War) has Fatherland. And Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the Japanese filmmaker behind Drive My Car, is back with All of a Sudden. For cinephiles, this is the good stuff.

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The Neon Factor and the Oscar Pipeline

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If there’s one company that has quietly turned Cannes into its personal awards-season launchpad, it’s specialty distributor Neon. The company has backed the last six Palme d’Or winners in a row — an unprecedented run — and this year they’re attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films competing for the top prize. The streak could easily continue.

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The template is well established at this point. Two years ago, Sean Baker’s Anora won the Palme d’Or here before going on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Last year, Cannes selections including Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and It Was Just an Accident all carved out significant roles in awards season. The festival has become less of a Hollywood showcase and more of an Oscar incubator — and that’s not a bad trade.

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The Stars Are Still Coming

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Hollywood studios may have stayed home, but their talent didn’t get the memo. Over the next two weeks, the Croisette will see Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, and Sandra Hüller, among many others.

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There’s also a meta layer to all of this that’s hard to ignore. The fourth season of HBO’s The White Lotus — Mike White’s acclaimed series that has become one of the most-watched shows on television — is set entirely around a trip to Cannes. Production began on the French Riviera last month, meaning the real festival is essentially unfolding inside its own fictional backdrop. How much of this year’s Cannes energy bleeds into the show, and vice versa, is going to be fascinating to watch.

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Park Chan-wook’s jury convenes Tuesday for their first press conference before settling in for nearly two weeks of sequestered screenings. The Palme d’Or winner will be announced May 23 — and if history is any guide, Neon will probably be celebrating.

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The post Cannes 2026 Kicks Off With Stars, No Studios appeared first on Cream.

• The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs for 12 days starting Tuesday, with Park Chan-wook presiding over the jury
• American films are largely absent from competition, with only Ira Sachs and late addition James Gray representing Hollywood
• Honorary Palmes d’Or will go to Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand at this year’s ceremony
• The White Lotus is also on the Croisette — filming its fourth season on location
• Key contenders include films from Pawel Pawlikowski, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Na Hong-jin and Pedro Almodóvar

The 79th Cannes Film Festival kicks off Tuesday on the Côte d’Azur, and for the next 12 days, the most obsessive movie conversation on the planet will be happening on one sun-drenched stretch of the French Riviera. Red carpets, late-night screenings, the slow stunned walk of someone who just watched something that rearranged their brain — it’s all about to begin.

South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook presides over the jury deciding the Palme d’Or this year. At the opening ceremony, Cannes will bestow honorary Palmes on Peter Jackson and, later in the festival, Barbra Streisand. And if you look closely at the official poster — Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in that iconic steely pose from Thelma & Louise — you’ll notice the festival is in a reflective mood about what Hollywood used to send to France, and what it’s sending now.

The short answer: not much. American directors are largely sitting this one out. Apart from Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love and the late addition of James Gray’s Paper Tiger, no U.S. films were invited to compete for the Palme. That’s a notable shift from recent years — Sean Baker world-premiered Anora at Cannes in 2024 and went on to win Best Picture. There’s no Tom Cruise rappelling in for a gala this time, either.

Whether that reflects something about the current state of American cinema, festival politics, or simply the luck of the draw is genuinely debatable. But the lineup that’s actually here is formidable. Here’s what has everyone most excited.

The Film Everyone’s Picking to Win

If you were going to place one bet right now, Fatherland would be the name to write down. Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski — whose black-and-white period dramas Ida and Cold War earned a combined four Oscar nominations and one win — is back with a third entry in what’s becoming an unofficial trilogy of exquisite austerity. This one stars Hanns Zischler as German author Thomas Mann on a road trip following World War II, accompanied by his daughter.

That daughter is played by Sandra Hüller. The Anatomy of a Fall star has become the most electrifying actress working in prestige cinema right now, and her name alone in a cast list is enough to make a film a front-runner. Fatherland is distributed by Mubi, which knows exactly what it has.

The Star-Studded American Wild Card

Paper Tiger wasn’t even on the original competition slate — James Gray’s Queens-set Russian mafia drama was added late, and instantly became the most talked-about American entry at the festival. Adam Driver and Miles Teller play brothers who get tangled up with organized crime, with Scarlett Johansson co-starring. Between Driver and Johansson, there are four Oscar nominations and zero wins. Gray, who directed Armageddon Time and The Immigrant, has a track record of pulling extraordinary performances out of people — his Two Lovers, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix, remains quietly essential. Teller, meanwhile, hasn’t had a role that truly stretched him in a while. This could be the one.

The Korean Filmmaker Ready to Break Through

Na Hong-jin has been one of the most quietly devastating directors working anywhere in the world, but Western audiences still haven’t fully caught up with him. His 2008 debut The Chaser played like someone who’d watched David Fincher’s Se7en on a loop for a year and then let it all out. The Wailing added ghosts, demons, dead crows, and a kind of dread that wouldn’t leave you for days. Now he’s back with Hope, a long-gestating sci-fi thriller that Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux said “constantly changes genres.” The cast is a genuine international event: Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell. There is, apparently, also a tiger on the loose. Neon — the company that has now won a staggering six Palmes in a row — has already acquired it. If any film here has the potential to be a word-of-mouth phenomenon, this might be it.

The Auteurs With Something to Prove

Ryusuke Hamaguchi made history when Drive My Car became the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture. Now he’s making his French-language debut with All of a Sudden, starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in a story about a nursing home director and a terminally ill Japanese playwright. The subject sounds heavy, but Hamaguchi has a way of making grief feel like an act of grace.

Fellow Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters in 2018, is here with Sheep in the Box — a sci-fi film about a grieving couple who adopt an infant humanoid robot. In almost anyone else’s hands, that premise would be a provocation. In Kore-eda’s, it sounds like it might break your heart in the most tender way imaginable.

Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director who somehow channeled all his beautiful weirdness into Drive — a film that’s now baked into the DNA of Los Angeles — is back with his first feature in a decade. Her Private Hell takes place in a futuristic Tokyo and stars a cast of young unknowns. A decade away, a new city, a new world. The conditions are right for something unhinged and essential.

And then there’s Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Palme-winning Anatomy of a Fall with his partner Justine Triet. In The Unknown, he directs a film about a photographer who follows a woman home from a party — and wakes up in her body. Starring Léa Seydoux, who has a gift for making art-house films feel like events. Neon has already bought this one too.

The Personal, the Provocative, and the Flat-Out Bizarre

Pedro Almodóvar is practically a resident of the Croisette at this point. After making his English-language debut with The Room Next Door — starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore — he returns to Spain with Bitter Christmas, described as a multilayered melodrama about filmmaking, grief, and aging. It’s being called one of his most personal films yet, which, for Almodóvar, is saying something.

Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose Leviathan and Loveless were both Oscar-nominated, returns after a near-death experience during the pandemic with Minotaur, following a business executive in crisis in rural Russia. The circumstances alone make it one of the most anticipated comebacks in the lineup.

Sebastian Stan, fresh off a run of genuinely adventurous choices — A Different Man, The Apprentice, even Pam & Tommy — took time away from the Marvel universe to shoot Fjord with Romanian heavyweight Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). He and Renate Reinsve play a Romanian-Norwegian couple relocating to her remote Norwegian hometown. Mungiu doesn’t make comfortable films, and that’s exactly the point.

Rami Malek stars in Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love as an actor with a life-threatening illness in 1980s New York, preparing for what might be his final performance. It was the sole American competition entry before Gray’s film arrived, and it still feels like a quiet dark horse.

Jane Schoenbrun opens the Un Certain Regard section with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a meta-horror film starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson about the making of a slasher film. Schoenbrun’s work — I Saw the TV Glow, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair — is the kind of thing that doesn’t hit everyone the same way, but when it hits, it hits hard. Un Certain Regard is also where Zachary Wigon’s gothic horror Victorian Psycho lives, starring Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, and 13-year-old Jacobi Jupe, who was the best thing in Hamnet.

And then there’s Quentin Dupieux. The French filmmaker — once better known as techno artist Mr. Oizo, directing puppet-filled music videos on Euro MTV — has been making some of the strangest, most delightful movies in any language for years. Full Phil is his first English-language comedy since 2013’s Wrong Cops, and his most star-laden film ever: Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart as a father and daughter on a Parisian vacation. There are no rules here. That’s the whole point.

The One Playing Outside Competition

Steven Soderbergh’s documentary John Lennon: The Last Interview screens as a special presentation rather than a competition entry, but it may be the most talked-about film at the festival. The film is built around Lennon’s final interview, given at the Dakota in New York shortly before he was killed. Soderbergh has acknowledged using artificial intelligence to illustrate some of Lennon’s more philosophical musings — a detail that drew headlines before a single frame was seen. Whether that choice illuminates or distracts is exactly the conversation Cannes was made for.

Oh, and while all of this is happening on screen, The White Lotus will be filming its fourth season on the Croisette itself. Even the real world at Cannes this year looks like a movie.

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