Once Upon a Time in Cannes: the Unmissable Moments From the 78th Festival de Cannes

As the curtain falls on the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the Croisette returns to its languid rhythm — its red carpets rolled up, its flashbulbs dimmed. But the legacy of this 78th edition lingers, from bold directorial visions to glittering premières that lit up the Riviera. The coveted Palme d’Or was awarded to Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi for It Was Just An Accident, while Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value claimed the prestigious Grand Prix. Here, HD Fashion breaks down the biggest winners and the moments that defined Cannes this year.

An Ode to Freedom

In a powerful return to the Croisette after 22 years, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi made history on Saturday night, receiving the Palme d’Or from Cate Blanchett for It Was Just an Accident. Although his work has graced Cannes in absentia, this marked his first in-person appearance at the festival in over two decades.

Taking the stage at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, an emotional Panahi addressed the audience with a plea for unity and artistic freedom. A filmmaker who has long endured censorship, imprisonment, and travel bans under Iran’s authoritarian regime, he declared: “Let’s put all the problems, all the differences aside; the most important thing right now is our country — and our country’s freedom.” To a standing ovation, he continued: “Let’s reach that moment together when no one dares to tell us what we should completely include, what we should say, what we shouldn’t do… Cinema is a society. No one has the right to tell us what you should do, what you shouldn’t do.”

With this win, Panahi becomes the only living filmmaker to have received the top prizes at all four major European festivals — Locarno, Venice, Berlin, and now Cannes — a feat previously achieved only by Michelangelo Antonioni.

A Special Prize for Pure Cinema

“At the beginning of every film, there’s a beautiful piece of music by Saint-Saëns, and staircases — staircases rising from the depths of the water, ascending toward the sky where thousands of stars appear,” said Juliette Binoche, the jury president of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, her voice trembling with emotion. “Sometimes, in that sky, we find wonders. And among those wonders, there was one truly exceptional film. We decided to give it a special prize.” With that, she stepped forward to personally present the award to Chinese director Bi Gan.

The Special Prize honoured Resurrection, a breathtaking feat of cinema — visually audacious, narratively hypnotic, and almost hallucinatory in its beauty. Possibly the boldest film in competition, it reimagines the 20th century as a phantasmagorical journey through the collective imagery of film itself, from its earliest days to the present.

The Feminine Gaze 

This year, Cannes spotlighted a remarkable slate of women directors, offering stories as varied as they were compelling. The festival opened with Partir un Jour, a French romantic comedy by Amélie Bonnin. The film stars singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet as a celebrated chef who is abruptly called back to her childhood home, where she reconnects with a former sweetheart and is forced to reassess her life, her choices, and what it means to be a powerful woman in today’s world.

Two formidable actresses made their directorial debuts: Kristen Stewart unveiled her lyrical and dreamlike The Chronology of Water, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s cult memoir, while Scarlett Johansson presented Eleanor the Great, starring the inimitable June Squibb in a quietly commanding lead role.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Lawrence delivered a searing performance in Die, My Love, a visceral exploration of love, pain and madness, directed by Lynne Ramsay. With critical acclaim building, many are already predicting an Oscar nod for the actress and a box office success for the film - MUBI acquired distribution rights for a staggering $24 million.

But it was Nadia Melliti who ultimately took home the Best Actress prize at Cannes, for her unforgettable role in Hafsia Herzi’s La Petite Dernière (The Little Sister), who scouted her in sports. The coming-of-age drama follows the youngest daughter of a close-knit family in the Parisian suburbs as she begins her philosophy studies in the capital — slowly distancing herself from her roots, traditions, and the security of familial love in search of her own identity.

Finally, German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski emerged as one of the festival’s revelations with The Sound of Falling, a sweeping, time-spanning portrait of the 20th century told through the lives of four generations of women from the same family. The film was awarded the Jury Prize, which it shared with Olivier Laxe’s Sirat.

Wagner Moura’s Magnetic Turn

The Best Actor award went to Brazilian star Wagner Moura for his riveting performance in The Secret Agent — a film that captivated the Croisette with near-unanimous praise. Known globally for his role in Narcos, Moura here delivers a far more enigmatic portrayal: Marcelo, a man on the run, shrouded in mystery, evading a threat that remains just out of reach.

With quiet intensity and magnetic screen presence, Moura sustains a suffocating tension throughout the film, anchoring its claustrophobic atmosphere. “Wagner Moura is not only an exceptional actor, he’s an extraordinary human being — I adore him,” said diretor Kleber Mendonça Filho, who accepted the award on Moura’s behalf. The actor was absent from the ceremony. In a rare Cannes moment, Mendonça Filho also left the stage with a second honour — the award for Best Director.

Text: Lidia Ageeva