The dust has settled on this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and the lights have dimmed once more on the French Riviera. This allows us to sit back and take in the winners and losers from the annual festival, and assess which films will make an impact in cinemas and come award season. Last year’s Palme d’Or winner, Anora, went on to secure the ‘Best Picture’ Academy Award, while Emilia Pérez and The Substance both premiered at the festival.

This year’s Cannes garnered many more negative headlines than normal, which almost overshadowed the whole event. Numerous films that felt like sure-fire wins ended up getting a lukewarm response and negative reviews. Julia Ducournau’s follow-up to Titane, Alpha, and Ari Aster’s new film, Eddington, were both met with a mixed response and a surprising amount of criticism.

The comeback of stars many felt should have stayed away, and the policing of red carpet fashion also overshadowed the art. Thankfully, it wasn’t totally a failure. Auteurs like Joachim Trier, Kelly Reichardt, and Lynne Ramsay loudly returned to La Croisette with understated films exploring fractured relationships. These stalwarts were joined by fresh voices from the likes of actors Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart and films from regulars Kirill Serebrennikov and Raoul Peck.

Here are my 12 picks for films that debuted at Cannes that are worth keeping an eye out for when they enjoy public release later this year or early next year.

Sentimental Value

In a year when most films were met with a shrug or some form of criticism, Sentimental Value was one of the most universally praised. Joachim Trier’s follow-up to The Worst Person in the World (2021) reunited the director with Renate Reinsve, who plays a famous actress trying to bond with her director father (Stellan Skarsgård).

The film explores why the director has never worked with his celebrated daughter and touches on the way artists draw from their own lives. Co-starring Elle Fanning, the highly praised film has been celebrated for finding the profound in mundane circumstances and unsentimentally understanding the dynamics of a fractured family.

Die My Love

Acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay returns with Die My Love. Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, adapting a 2017 novel by Ariana Harwicz, the film deals with the breakdown of their relationship after their child is born. Ramsay criticised those who referred to the film as being about postpartum psychosis, saying the themes were more connected to the breakdown of love.

Although critics have praised the cast, which also features Sissy Spacek and LaKeith Stanfield, it’s Lawrence who truly stands out. Her performance as a struggling new mother who moves to the countryside has been universally praised and is an early prediction for an Oscar nomination. Could this be the film that makes Ramsay the household name she deserves and lands Lawrence her second Oscar?

Pillion

A gay BDSM romance isn’t a premise that usually gets universal praise, yet Pillion has been highly praised by critics. Alexander Skarsgård plays Ray, a dominating leather-clad biker living in the London suburbs who finds a submissive lover in the form of a meek parking inspector played by Harry Melling. The concept sounds provocative, but many found their connection sharply observed yet unexpectedly sweet, and quirkily funny in the way only British films seem to capture.

Pillion was also one of the films that created a conversation among journalists, so it will be sure to divide audiences. While some found humour and sweetness in the dynamic between the sweet Colin and dominant Ray, others wondered if their dynamic was downplaying emotional abuse. Co-starring Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge, expect Pillion to cause conversation when it gets a public release.

The Little Sister

Led by Nadia Melliti, The Little Sister is an intimate drama about a practising Muslim girl, Fatima, in Paris. The low-key affair sees the lead explore the city and her sexuality, while also trying to reconcile with her religion. Despite the niche set-up, The Little Sister has earned praise for packing a universal punch with touching moments between Fatima and her mother.

The Little Sister is one of the lighter films on the list, but it’s been praised for being a queer movie that is not tied down with tragedy and and conflict. Nadia Melliti is one to watch as the vulnerable yet spiky Fatima, deservedly winning this year’s ‘Best Actress’ award at the festival.

The Mastermind

First Cow (2019) director Kelly Reichardt’s 1970s-set heist thriller has been praised for being a quiet ode to the cinema of the era. The Mastermind stars Josh O’Connor as an unemployed father trying to steal four paintings from a local art museum in Massachusetts.

The film may be too modest to make an impact come awards season, but critics have noted Reichardt’s observant eye and the way she sums up a whole generation through one small-town event. O’Connor also continues his run of making interesting choices, turning him into one of the most interesting, if not underrated, young actors currently working.

The Secret Agent

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazil-set thriller was one of the most universally loved films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Set in 1977, the film follows Wagner Moura’s teacher, who gets caught up in the political turmoil of the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.

The Secret Agent has been praised for skipping the well-worn tropes of political thrillers in favour of exploring the human sacrifice of dictatorship. Winning the ‘Best Actor’ prize for Moura, ‘Best Director’ prize for Mendonça Filho, and the ‘FIPRESCI’ prize, expect A Secret Agent to make a significant impact during the 2026 awards season. Critics are already claiming this film could follow I’m Still Here (2024) and bring a statuette home to Brazil at the Academy Awards.

Sound of Falling

Mascha Schilinski’s dense, literary film won’t be for everyone, but its craftsmanship has to be applauded. Opening the competition, Sound of Falling stretches across time and explores the echoes of pain. The German film centres on four girls from four different time periods growing up on a farm. The quartet’s lives and trauma become intertwined until they are united by a common theme.

The well-received film has earned praise for creating an unnerving, dream-like atmosphere and for the seamless way it unravels 100 years of womanhood. Schilinski’s sophomore film may be too self-indulgent and challenging for some, but others will find themselves impressed by the ambition of the storytelling.

Chronology of Water

Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut has been praised for its bold exploration of womanhood and trauma. The movie follows the real-life story of a woman raised in a violent environment who finds freedom in literature and explores how trauma can be repossessed through art.

Adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir, Chronology of Water stars Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, and Tom Sturridge, all of whom have been praised for their performances. Far from a vanity project, Chronology of Water is a haunting and untraditional story about a woman struggling to process her pain through art. Stewart has already shown herself to be a promising director with a bright future ahead of her.

Urchin

Another actor making his directorial debut is Harris Dickinson (Babygirl). Urchin is a sharply comic drama about a middle-class young man (Frank Dillane) who has been a homeless drug addict for years. This film is less of a sob story or a cautionary tale but more of an exploration into why those who need help don’t want it.

Dickinson’s debut is another addition to the great tradition of British kitchen sink dramas. In the vein of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, Urchin is an unflinching yet gently humorous look at marginalised Britain. Dillane’s performance has been compared to Gary Oldman and David Thewlis’ work in the 1990s. Could Dickinson be the new voice of an underrepresented UK?

The History of Sound

The History of Sound stars Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) and Josh O’Connor as two young lovers recording folk songs of their countrymen in the summer of 1920. Although not universally praised due to some decisions by director Oliver Hermanus, Mescal and O’Connor do enough to win over most of those who saw it at Cannes.

What people couldn’t stop talking about with The History of Sound was the tenderness of the relationship between the two men. Although Mescal shot down comparisons to Brokeback Mountain (2005), the longing between the two men and the time period setting admittedly have parallels. Considering Mescal and O’Connor’s popularity as actors, this movie is sure to get the internet excited (even if not every critic was quite as enthralled).

It Was Just An Accident

It Was Just An Accident sees the return of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi after winning the festival’s ‘Best Screenplay’ award for 3 Faces (2018). This surreal comedy follows a mechanic who thinks the man who has just entered his shop is the same man who tortured him in prison.

Described as razor-sharp and a brave film that confronts injustice in Iran, It Was Just An Accident was inspired by Panahi’s own time in jail for making so-called anti-government propaganda. To many, this film winning the Palme d’Or was a no-brainer. It’s a bold critique of a regime that had already penalised Panahi and a chilling portrayal of life’s repercussions.

Sirât

French-Spanish director Oliver Laxe has been a film festival favourite since his debut, You All Are Captains (2010). Sirât is a confident step up for the director and has earned comparisons to Mad Max (1979). The apocalyptic western follows a father’s (Sergi López) search for his missing daughter, who left to explore the North African illegal rave scene and was never seen again.

Set in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and shot in 16mm, Sirât follows the desperate man as he befriends colourful party people and traverses tough terrain. With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Sirat has been praised for its portrayal of a decaying world, which soothes many in its stress, including the portrayal of techno-warriors. Expect an onslaught of noise and visuals as one father’s hunt for his daughter descends into hell.

Nouvelle Vague

Acquired by Netflix at Cannes, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague is a black-and-white love letter to the French New Wave. The film fondly chronicles the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960) and stars Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg.

Nouvelle Vague is a must-see for classic film lovers, made in the same style as the original film. The second of two Linklater films to make rounds this festival season (Blue Moon debuted at Berlinale), Nouvelle Vague is a nostalgic tribute that has been praised for creating a thoughtful dialogue with the source materials without canonising Godard.