US President Trump's announcement on May 4 that he plans to "make Hollywood great again" by imposing XNUMX% tariffs on "foreign films" and punishing American studios that go abroad to film has drawn filmmakers and cinemagoers in Cannes into a global trade war.
What exactly the president wants to do remains unclear. Actor Jon Voight, one of Trump's "special ambassadors" to the entertainment industry, has outlined a plan with a slew of proposals. They include tax breaks for films shot in the United States, a new "cultural test" that requires them to contribute to American culture, and penalties for those who film American stories abroad.
Trump's tariffs could disrupt the operations of many studios or even make it impossible to make certain independent films.
"Everyone is talking about tariffs, and no one knows what it will mean, how it will affect business, whether it will make it harder to make films," says Pia Patatian, president of the US-based independent production company Cloud9 Studios.
Hollywood's global projects under attack
Many of the biggest, most eagerly anticipated American films going to Cannes are precisely the kind of "foreign" productions that Trump is targeting with his announced measures.
Tom Cruise will bring "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," the eighth and reportedly final film in the successful series, to Cannes.
The film will be screened out of competition. Cruise is once again agent Ethan Hunt, racing through foreign cities, jumping off foreign cliffs and clinging to the wheels of foreign prop planes as they fly over foreign landscapes.
Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme," the latest work from the director known for films such as "The Grand Budapest Hotel," was shot at Studio Babelsberg near Berlin. It stars typical Anderson stars such as Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks and Jeffrey Wright.
"Nouvelle Vague" (New Wave in French) is a film by independent cinema legend Richard Linklater, actually a retelling of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 classic "Until the Last Breath". The film was shot entirely in Paris and - in French.
Ari Aster's new film "Eddington" was at least filmed in the US. The Covid-era plot, in which a sheriff with the motto "Make America Great Again" (Joakim Phoenix) fights against the local mayor (Pedro Pascal), could prove to be a provocation to the current president.
If attendees can put Trump out of their minds, the 78th Cannes Film Festival has a lot to offer. The 2025 feature film competition is packed with heavyweights known for their unique styles.
Cannes 2025: robberies, horrors and powerful tandems
Among the entrants is American independent director Kelly Reichart, who returns to competition at Cannes with "The Mastermind," a drama about art heist set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. The film stars Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim and John Magaro.
Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi, who has finally been released from prison and is no longer under a travel ban, will also have his latest drama "Un Simple Accident" screened.
And Julie Ducournot, who won the 2021 Palme d'Or with "Titan," returned to competition at Cannes with "Alpha," a shocking XNUMXs story about a girl who is shunned by her classmates after word spreads that she has a new disease.
The German candidate for the Palme d'Or is Masha Šilinski. Her second feature film "The Sound of Falling" will premiere in the official competition. The drama follows four women from four different eras whose lives are eerily intertwined.
Orange i rep
Spike Lee — who called Donald Trump "Agent Orange" — is back at Cannes, out of competition, in tandem with Denzel Washington.
"Highest 2 Lovest" is the pair's first collaboration since Inside Man (2006). The crime thriller is based on Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film "High and Low." The film also features rapper A$AP Rocky.
German director Fatih Akin arrives in Cannes with the film "Amrum", starring German Hollywood star Diane Kruger. It is a drama that takes place on the rural Frisian island of the same name in the final days of World War II.
Akin and Kruger's last collaboration was in the film, whose German title is "Aus dem nichts" (Out of Nothing) and which was released internationally under the title "In the Fade." The film premiered at Cannes in 2017 and won Diane Kruger the Best Actress award.
Several famous faces have also stepped behind the camera to direct. Cannes will screen films starring actors Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson.
Current topics
Current historical events will also be highlighted in accompanying programs. The festival's independent selection includes "Militantropos," a documentary by a Ukrainian directorial team that explores the impact of war on everyday life. Out-of-competition programs include "The Wave," a musical by Chilean director Sebastian Lely, inspired by feminist protests across Chile in 2018, and the German-French co-production "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele," a historical drama about the infamous Nazi doctor.
It is worth mentioning that the film "Dam" directed by Lebanese director Ali Sheri will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in the "Fifteen Days of the Author" selection. The film is co-produced by Trilema from Serbia. It is a co-production of France, Serbia, Germany, Sudan and Canada.
This year, Cannes will once again host a meeting of potential investors (Cannes Investors Circle) and selected film directors who present their film ideas. Among those who will have the opportunity to try to secure funding for their film idea this year will be Bosnian and Herzegovinian director Jasmila Žbanić, who lives in Berlin.
So, there will be plenty of films to watch and discuss at Cannes this year – even without mentioning Agent Orange.
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