Paul Mescal, Bono, dresscode... 10 things to watch out for at Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival is under way in the south of France, complete with a decent Irish involvement, writes Esther McCarthy

Thu, 15 May, 2025 - 21:00

1. Paul Mescal

The History of Sound competes for the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d'Or. It stars Paul Mescal and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor in a drama set during World War I, which has already been drawing buzz ahead of its festival debut. The film centres on two men who want to record the lives and music of their compatriots. As they do so, they begin to fall in love. The drama from filmmaker Oliver Hermanus also has Mescal on board as an executive producer.

2. New dress rules

Jury member Halle Berry had to mount a last-minute frock exchange when she learned of changes to the dress code at the festival this year. “I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train,” Berry said. “I’m not going to break the rules. The nudity part is also probably a good rule.” Changes include recommendations on “voluminous outfits”, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre. The nudity rule is “not to regulate attire per se, but to prohibit full nudity on the red carpet, in accordance with the institutional framework of the event and French law,” according to the festival.

3. Pillion’s Irish Connections

Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney from Dublin-based Element Pictures.

Dublin-based production powerhouse Element Pictures — whose many previous successes include Room, Normal People and Poor Things —has two films selected for Cannes this year. Based on the book Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion is directed by Harry Lighton, stars Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling, and was shot on location in the UK. It tells the story of an unassuming man who is swept off his feet when an enigmatic biker takes him on as his submissive.

4. My Father’s Shadow

Element is also bringing the forthcoming My Father’s Shadow— shot on location in Nigeria — to the acclaimed film festival. A semi-autobiographical tale set over the course of a single day in the Nigerian capital Lagos during the 1993 election crisis, it follows a father, estranged from his two young sons, as they travel through the city while political unrest threatens their journey home.

5. Bono

Stories of Surrender, a reimagining of the U2 frontman’s one-man autobiographical stage show, makes its debut at this year’s festival. Directed by Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik (Blonde, Chopper) the documentary will feature previously unseen footage from the tour as Bono pulls back the curtains on his life. It will also feature performances of many of the songs that have shaped the Dublin singer's life and musical legacy.

6. Learning to Breathe Under Water

Filmed in Ireland, Learning to Breathe Under Water has been selected for the Great 8 showcase at the upcoming festival. Starring Rory Kinnear and Maria Bakalova (possibly familiar from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) the film was made on location in Galway last year and introduces young Irish actor Ezra Carlisle in his first major screen role. The showcase will help ignite international interest in the comedy-drama - previous films selected include Kneecap and Aftersun.

7. Enda Walsh

Enda Walsh co-wrote Die, My Love. Picture: Dan Linehan

The Dublin writer recently collaborated with Cork stars Cillian Murphy and Eileen Walsh - who he first met through Corcadorca’s Disco Pigs - on the adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These. Now Enda Walsh is working with acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Ramsay on one of Cannes’ buzziest titles. The Scottish filmmaker returns to the Croisette after her first film You Were Never Really Here won best screenplay at the 2017 festival. Walsh co-wrote Die, My Love with Ramsay and Alice Birch, an adaptation of a novel by Ariana Harwicz about a new mother who develops postpartum depression and psychosis. The impressive cast bringing the film to Cannes includes Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, and Sissy Spacek.

8. The Palme d’Or

A scene from The Phoenician Scheme, by Wes Anderson.

Regarded as the most prestigious prize on the world’s film festival circuit, the Palme d’Or can transform the success of and attention on a film, generating huge interest from both the public and the film industry. Just ask the makers of Anora, last year’s Palme winner, which went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Among this year’s many contenders are Wes Anderson, bringing his star-studded The Phoenician Scheme to the Croisette. US filmmaker Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague - which tells the story behind Jean Luc Godard’s French classic A Bout de Souffle - will be a popular contender. Some of the female filmmakers in contention for the Palme d’Or include Mascha Schilinski ( Sound of Falling), Lynne Ramsay ( Die, My Love), and Carla Simón ( Romería).

9. Actors going behind the camera

Some high-profile screen stars are turning directors with their latest projects. Kristen Stewart directs a cast that includes Imogen Posts and Thora Birch in an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s bestseller The Chronology of Water. Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with Eleanor the Great, which stars June Squibb as a woman who, after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own.

10. The Palm Dog:

Quentin Tarantino at a previous Palm Dog event.

Cinema’s most-talented pooches will be ready for their close-ups at this annual award for the top dog at Cannes. Always a quirky and popular event, the Palm Dog is presented to the most committed canine performance at each year’s festival. Though intended as light relief as the festival draws to a close, the Palme Dog is not to be sniffed at - previous winners include Messi, the blue-eyed French border collie at the heart of Anatomy of a Fall, and Uggie, the jack russell terrier who stole moviegoers’ hearts in The Artist.