In front of the Cannes Festival signage, May 11, 2026. ANDREEA ALEXANDRU/INVISION/AP
The 79th Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday, May 12, kicking off 11 days of film screenings and sleepless nights for guests at the festival venue, along the southern city's famous La Croisette boulevard. The jury, chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, will award the Palme d'Or to one of the 22 filmmakers in competition.
Who will take home the prestigious prize? With the festival advocating gender parity and diversity, do the women featured among the official selection stand a better chance? How about newcomers? Rather than attempting to predict the future, Le Monde examined the selection and past winners to try to identify trends.
One woman director for every four men in the Palme d'Or selection
The 2025 edition of the festival, chaired by actress Juliette Binoche, was far from gender-balanced: Only seven of the 22 films in the official competition had been directed by women. Despite the fact that the 79th edition's official poster chose to honor Thelma and Louise, the heroines of a Ridley Scott film that has become a feminist touchstone, this year's edition fared even worse, with just five films by women directors and 17 by men.
