Cannes Film Festival 2025: Palme d'Or, Grand Prix... The list of awards presented

Each year, around twenty films are selected for the official competition. To prevent some films from winning multiple awards—like Barton Fink in 1991 or Gus Van Sant's Elephant in 2003—the organizing committee has amended the rules.

It has been decided that the Palme d'Or winner, like the one that received the Grand Prix or the Best Director award, can no longer receive other awards. Furthermore, the awarding of a prize tied to two films no longer applies to the Palme d'Or. This happened nine times between 1961 and 1997. The Palme d'Or can now only be awarded to a single feature film. This year, the Cannes Film Festival takes place from Tuesday, May 16 to Saturday, May 27, 2023.

In 1955, for the ^9th edition of the festival, its general delegate Robert Favre Le Bret decided to offer a Palme d'Or to the winner. This award replaced the "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", awarded to the director of the best film in the competition since its creation in 1946. The festival's board of directors opted for a trophy designed by jeweler Lucienne Lazon. This is the most prestigious prize in the awards. Marty , by American director Delbert Mann, won the first Palme d'Or . In 2022, the jury chaired by Vincent Lindon awarded the Palme d'Or to Sans filtre by director Ruben Östlund .

Since 1967, this award has honored films that "demonstrate the most originality or spirit of research." Initially, in the 1960s, this prize had the same value as the Palme d'Or. It was intended to reward an auteur film, while the Palme d'Or was awarded to a more mainstream film. But juries have increasingly less applied this distinction, and this prize is seen more as the second step on the podium. It can sometimes be accompanied by a special mention or awarded to two films tied, as in 2022, which distinguished Close by Lukas Dhont and Stars at Noon by Claire Denis.

Introduced in 1952, the Jury Prize aims to highlight the uniqueness of a cinematic approach and can be used as an incentive for a young filmmaker with promising talent. However, in practice, it has also rewarded established filmmakers. The jury can add a "special prize" or an "exceptional prize," like the one awarded in 2009 to director Alain Resnais.

Twice, in 2001 and 2004, it has recognized the work of a technician and an actress. In 2008, a ^61st anniversary award honored director Clint Eastwood and actress Catherine Deneuve for their lifetime achievement. In 2022, this award was awarded jointly to Eo , Jerzy Skolimowski , and The Eight Mountains by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch .

The award is given to the person the jury recognizes as the best actress and best actor among the films in competition. Vanessa Redgrave, Isabelle Huppert, Helen Mirren, and Barbara Hershey have been recognized twice, while Isabelle Adjani was awarded the same year for two films. Dean Stockwell, Jack Lemmon, and Marcello Mastroianni have also been recognized twice.

In 2022, this prize went to Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who took refuge in France, for Ali Abbasi's Nights of Mashhad , and to Song Kang-ho, the Korean actor in The Good Stars by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda.

This award, which has been held since the festival's inception, honors the best director among the films presented in the official competition. Only Ethan and Joel Coen have received this award three times: in 1991 ( Barton Fink ), 1996 ( Fargo ), and 2001 ( The Barber ). Directors René Clément, Sergei Youtkhevitch, Robert Bresson, and John Boorman have won it twice. In 2022, Korean director Park Chan-wook won it for Decision to Leave .

This award aims to highlight the quality of the writing of a film in competition. Awarded irregularly since 1949, it was institutionalized in 1996. In 2022, the prize went to Tarik Saleh for The Cairo Conspiracy .

The awards are completed each year by the Caméra d'Or, which rewards the best first film presented at the Cannes Film Festival, all sections combined, and has a dedicated jury. In 2022, the American film War Pony , by Gina Gammell and Kiley Reough, was recognized. In addition, a Palme d'Or is also awarded to the best short film in the competition.