The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition.
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, for the drama film Parasite, becoming the first Korean to win the award. The Honorary Palme d'Or was awarded to French actor Alain Delon.
The festival honored French filmmaker Agnès Varda, who died early that year, featuring her on the official poster of the festival. The photograph used was taken during the filming of her debut film La Pointe Courte (1955), which screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
The festival opened with The Dead Don't Die by Jim Jarmusch, and closed with The Specials by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.
Juries
Main competition Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican director – Jury President Enki Bilal, French author, artist and director Robin Campillo, French director Elle Fanning, American actress Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek director Maimouna N'Diaye, Senegalese actress Paweł Pawlikowski, Polish director Kelly Reichardt, American director Alice Rohrwacher, Italian director
Nadine Labaki, Lebanese-Canadian director – Jury President Lisandro Alonso, Argentine director Lukas Dhont, Belgian director Marina Foïs, French actress Nurhan Sekerci-Porst, German film producer
Caméra d'or Rithy Panh, Cambodian-French director – Jury President Alice Diop, French director Benoît Delhomme, French cinematographer Sandrine Marques, French director, author and film critic Nicolas Naegelen, French president and director of Polyson
and Short Films Competition Claire Denis, French director – Jury President Eran Kolirin, Israeli director Panos H. Koutras, Greek director Stacy Martin, French-British actress Cătălin Mitulescu, Romanian director
Critics' Week Ciro Guerra, Colombian director – Jury President Jonas Carpignano, Italian-American director Amira Casar, French-English actress Djia Mambu, Belgian-Congolese film journalist and critic Marianne Slot, French-Danish film producer
L'Œil d'or Yolande Zauberman, French director, Jury President Romane Bohringer, French actress and director Éric Caravaca, French actor and director Iván Giroud, Cuban film festival director Ross McElwee, American director
Queer Palm Virginie Ledoyen, French actress, Jury President Claire Duguet, French cinematographer and director Kee-Yoon Kim, French comedian Filipe Matzembacher, Brazilian director Marcio Reolon, Brazilian director
Official sections
In Competition The following films were selected to compete for the :
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Atlantics (CdO) Mati Diop Senegal, France, Belgium Bacurau (QP) Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles Brazil, France The Dead Don't Die (opening film) Jim Jarmusch United States Frankie (QP) Ira Sachs United States, France, Portugal A Hidden Life Terrence Malick United States, Germany, Austria It Must Be Heaven Elia Suleiman Palestine, France, Germany, Canada, Qatar, Turkey Little Joe Jessica Hausner Austria, Germany, United Kingdom Matthias & Maxime (QP) Xavier Dolan Canada Les Misérables (CdO) Ladj Ly FranceMektoub, My Love: Intermezzo Abdellatif Kechiche Oh Mercy! (QP) Arnaud DesplechinOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood Quentin Tarantino United States, United Kingdom, China Pain and Glory (QP) Pedro Almodóvar Spain Parasite Bong Joon-ho South Korea Portrait of a Lady on Fire (QP) Céline Sciamma France Sibyl Justine Triet France, Belgium Sorry We Missed You Ken Loach United Kingdom, France, Belgium The Traitor Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Brazil, Germany The Whistlers Corneliu Porumboiu Romania, France, Germany The Wild Goose Lake Diao Yinan China, France Young Ahmed Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne Belgium, France (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut. (QP) indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.
The following films were selected to compete in the section: English title Original title Director(s) Production country Adam (QP) Maryam Touzani Morocco Beanpole (QP) Kantemir Balagov Russia The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily Lorenzo Mattotti France, Italy A Brother's Love (CdO) Monia Chokri Canada Bull (CdO) Annie Silverstein United States The Climb (CdO) Michael Covino Fire Will Come Óliver Laxe Spain, France, Luxembourg Liberté (QP) Albert Serra Spain, France, Germany, Portugal Homeward (CdO) Evge Nariman Aliev Ukraine The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão Karim Aïnouz Brazil, Germany Joan of Arc Bruno Dumont France Nina Wu Midi Z Taiwan, Malaysia, Myanmar On a Magical Night Christophe Honoré France, Belgium, Luxembourg Once in Trubchevsk Larissa Sadilova Russia Papicha Mounia Meddour Algeria, France Port Authority (CdO) (QP) Danielle Lessovitz United States, France Summer of Changsha (CdO) Zu Feng China The Swallows of Kabul Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobé Mévellec France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut. (QP) indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.
Out of Competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country La Belle Époque Nicolas Bedos France The Best Years of a Life Claude Lelouch Diego Maradona (ŒdO) Asif KapadiaUnited KingdomRocketman (QP) Dexter FletcherUnited States The Specials (closing film) Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano France Too Old to Die Young (episodes 4 and 5) Nicolas Winding Refn United States Midnight Screenings The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil Lee Won-tae South KoreaLux Æterna Gaspar Noé France (QP) indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm. (ŒdO) indicates film eligible for the Œil d'or for documentary.
Special Screenings The following films were selected be shown in the special screenings section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country5B (ŒdO) Dan Krauss United StatesChicuarotes Gael García Bernal Mexico The Cordillera of Dreams (ŒdO) Patricio Guzmán France, ChileFamily Romance, LLC Werner Herzog Germany, United States, JapanFor Sama (ŒdO) Waad Al Kateab and Edward Watts Syrian, United Kingdom, United StatesIce on Fire (ŒdO) Leila Conners United States (ŒdO) Juan Solanas ArgentinaShare (CdO) Pippa Bianco United States Living and Knowing You Are Alive Alain Cavalier FranceTommaso Abel Ferrara Italy
(CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut. (ŒdO) indicates film eligible for the Œil d'or for documentary feature.
Short Films Competition Out of 4,240 entries, the following films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or.
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Van Erenik Beqiri Albania, FranceAnna Dekel Berenson Ukraine, Israel, United KingdomThe Jump (ŒdO) Vanessa Dumont and Nicolas Davenel FranceThe Distance Between Us and the Sky (QP)Vasilis Kekatos Greece, FranceAll Inclusive Teemu Nikki Finland Who Talks Elin Övergaard SwedenAnd Then the Bear Agnès Patron France Butterflies Parparim Yona Rozenkier Israel Monster God Agustina San Martín ArgentinaWhite Echo Chloë Sevigny United States The Nap Federico Luis Tachella Argentina (ŒdO) indicates film eligible for the Œil d'or for documentary. (QP) indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following 17 entries (14 live-action and 3 animated films) were selected out of 2,000 submissions. Six of the films selected represent schools participating in Cinéfondation for the first time.
English title Original title Director(s) School Ambience Wisam Al Jafari Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, PalestineMano a mano Louise CourvoisierCinéFabrique, France One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand Ondřej Erban FAMU, Czech RepublicJeremiah (QP) Kenya Gillespie University of Texas at Austin, United StatesPura vida Martin Gonda FTF VŠMU – Film and Television Faculty, Academy of Performing Arts, SlovakiaAdam Shoki Lin NTU, Singapore Rift Netek Yarden Lipshitz Louz Sapir College, Israel David McShane NFTS, United KingdomRosso: A True Lie About a Fisherman Antonio Messana La Fémis, France As Up to Now Katalin Moldovai Budapest Metropolitan University (METU), Hungary Favourites Martin Monk Filmakademie Wien, AustriaRoadkill Leszek Mozga UAL, United Kingdom The Little Soul Barbara Rupik PWSFTviT, PolandHiêu Richard Van CalArts, United StatesBamboe Flo Van Deuren RITCS, Belgium Complex Subject (QP) Olesya Yakovleva St Petersburg State University of Film and Television, Russia Alien Yeon Jegwang Korea National University of Arts, South Korea (QP) indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.
Cannes Classics The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 26 April 2019. English title Original title Director(s) Production countryRestorations (1959) Gilles Grangier France La Cité de la peur (1994) Alain Berbérian France Diary of a Nurse (1957) Tao Jin ChinaThe Doors (1991) Oliver Stone United States Easy Rider (1969) Dennis Hopper The Golden Age (1930) L'Âge d'or Luis Buñuel France The Horse Thief (1986) Tian Zhuangzhuang China Loves of a Blonde (1965) Miloš Forman Czechoslovakia Miracle in Milan (1951) Vittorio De Sica ItalyMoulin Rouge (1952) John Huston United KingdomNazarín (1958) Luis Buñuel Mexico (1980) Nicole Le Garrec France Seven Beauties (1975) Lina Wertmüller Italy The Shining (1980) Stanley Kubrick United States, United Kingdom Kanał (1957) Andrzej Wajda PolandToni (1934) Jean Renoir France Twenty Years of African Cinema (1983) Férid Boughedir Tunisia, France The White Caravan (1964) / Tamaz Meliava and Eldar Shengelaya Soviet Union The White Snake Enchantress (1958) Taiji Yabushita Japan The Witness (1969) Péter Bacsó Hungary The Woman Who Dared (1943) Jean Grémillon France The Young and the Damned (1950) Luis Buñuel MexicoDocumentaries about Cinema Mario SestiItalyForman vs. FormanHelena Třeštíková and Jakub HejnaCzech Republic, FranceEnrico CerasuoloItaly, FrancePierre-William GlennFranceMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic SoundMidge CostinUnited States
The is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.
English title Original title Director(s) Country The 400 Blows (1959) François Truffaut France Any Number Can Win (1962) Henri Verneuil France, Italy Boyz n the Hood (1991) John SingletonUnited States (1994) Alain BerbérianFrance Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, United States Easy Rider (1969) Dennis Hopper United States The Doors (1991) Oliver Stone (2019) François Armanet France The Patriots (1994) Éric Rochant
Parallel sections
Critics' Week The following films were selected to be screened in the Critics' Week section:
Features