A little bit after this year’s Berlinale, there was was a great deal of buzz surrounding a certain German title that opted for the Croisette instead of a homecoming premiere platform.

20 MAY, 10:00-22:00

FULL SCHEDULE OF DOC ACTIVITIES IN CANNES

May 15, 2025
15:30
16:45
Cannes Docs | 'Meet the Pros' Speed Meetings ⁠Speed-Meetings
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)
15:45
17:15
Documentary Sales Agents Cut's
Cannes Docs | Documentary Sales Agents' Cut: Festival & Upcoming Hits ⁠Screening
Palais B Screening Room
17:15
18:15
Cannes Docs | Group Consultations ⁠Networking
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)

May 16, 2025
09:30
10:30
Photo
Cannes Docs | Morning Boost

⁠Sharing Circle
Marion Schmidt #DocSafe | Consultant
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)
10:00
11:15
Brasil - Country of Honour
Cannes Docs | Docs-in-Progress > Brazil Showcase ⁠Works-in-Progress Showcase
Lérins 4 Screening Room
11:30
12:30
Photo
Cannes Docs | Doc Insights > A Pivotal Guide to World Sales and Distribution of Creative Docs ⁠Presentation
Anna Berthollet LIGHTDOX | CEO, Sales & Acquisitions
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)
11:45
13:00
Telefilm Canada & Forum RIDM
Cannes Docs | Docs-in-Progress > Canada Showcase ⁠Works-in-Progress Showcase
Lérins 4 Screening Room
14:00
15:00
DAE - Documentary Association of Europe
Film Comment
Cannes Docs | Doc Talk > Film Comment Live: The Voice of Documentary - Ethics & Pragmatics of Audio in Nonfiction ⁠Panel
Pooja Rangan Amherst College | Professor of English and Film and Media Studies, Eduardo Williams Filmmaker, Zoya Laktionova Film director and contemporary artist, Devika Girish Film Comment | Editor
Palais Stage (Palais -1) & Online
15:15
16:15
DAE's 'Ask Me Anything'
Cannes Docs | DAE's 'Ask Me Anything' Consultations ⁠One-To-One Meetings
Gugi Gumilang Docs by the Sea | Hot Docs | Programme Director / Programmer, Wouter Jansen Square Eyes | Sales agent, Marion Schmidt #DocSafe | Consultant, Brigid O'Shea Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) | Director
Plage des Palmes (Goéland Beach, La Croisette)
15:30
16:45
Cannes Docs | Meet the Pros - Speed Meetings ⁠Speed-Meetings
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)
16:30
17:45

Cannes Docs | The Co-Pro Social Club [Focus Documentary Africa Delegation] ⁠Presentation
Alyaa Musa Tooma Production ltd | Producer, Mamounata Nikiema PILUMPIKU PRODUCTION | Producer, Christina Ifubaraboye IMBUU | Producer, Valérie Montmartin LITTLE BIG STORY | Producer/CEO, Michael Kalb Michael Kalb Film Production | Producer, Rogier Kramer Labyrint Film | Producer, Tamara Dawit Producer, Gints Grūbe Mitrus Media | Producer, Magdalene Reddy Durban FilmMart | Market Director
The Viewpoint (Lérins)
17:15
18:15
Cannes Docs | Group Consultations ⁠Networking
Cannes Docs Venue (Riviera H4)
18:30
19:30
IEFTA

Seven Independent Producers Selected to Attend Cannes Film Festival to Build Their International Networks

The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham) announced today the 2025 fellows for the Festival De Cannes Producers Network Program. They are Caroline Clark (The Wedding Banquet), Chester Argenal Gordon (The Inspection), Dan Kagan (Longlegs), Leslie Norville (The First Wave), Joe Pirro (We Grown Now), Ani Schroeter (This Closeness), Daniel Tantalean (In the Summers). This year’s Producers Network Fellows will be participating in person at Cannes, May 14 – 19. 

As the sole U.S. Partner Organization for the Festival de Cannes Producers Network, The Gotham annually selects U.S. fiction and nonfiction producers to participate. Running concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival and the Marche du Film, the program is specifically designed for experienced producers to build up their international networks and learn more about international production, financing, legal and packaging.

In addition, The Gotham is proud to support the Gotham EDU partners Colgate University and Quinnipiac University by providing their students with Gotham resources, including the opportunity for students to connect with the Gotham/Cannes Producers Network Fellows. 

“This year’s Cannes Producers Network Fellows represent some of the most driven and visionary producers working today – each bringing a distinct voice and a commitment to ambitious, independent storytelling,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham. “Cannes has long stood as the global festival of record, and its relevance today is as profound as ever. We’re proud to support our Fellows on this world stage and grateful to the Marché du Film for their ongoing partnership in opening doors for the next generation of filmmakers.”

About the 2025 Gotham/Cannes Producers Network Fellows

CAROLINE CLARK

Caroline is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with midwestern roots. She recently produced Andrew Ahn’s modern remake of Ang Lee’s classic film, The Wedding Banquet, which premiered at Sundance 2025 to rave reviews and is being distributed theatrically by Bleecker Street and Universal Pictures. Caroline produced Lucio Castro’s film After This Death, which premiered in this year’s Berlinale Special Gala section, and the critically acclaimed documentary Behind the Curve about flat earthers. Caroline develops film and television for the production and financing company Kindred Spirit, where she associate produced and post-supervised the Netflix Original Documentary Found, co-produced The Last Year of Darkness for Mubi, and contributed to the development, production, and distribution of films such as The Farewell, Honey Boy, We Are Little Zombies, Together Together, and The Silent Twins. For her next documentary venture, she is tagging along with the world’s leading astronomers as they search for a new planet as a part of her upcoming film, Planet Nine, which received a production grant from the Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films.

CHESTER ALGENAL GORDON

Chester Algernal Gordon is an award-winning producer, costume designer, and co-founder of Freedom Principle. Their films, including The Inspection (A24), Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, and Pier Kids, have premiered at

 
European Film Promotion (EFP) expands its EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN+ IN FILM initiative. This year, the Busan International Film Festival joins Sydney Film Festival and Festival do Rio as the third major international partner outside Europe. All three film festivals spotlight European films directed by women and genderqueer filmmakers. Sydney Film Festival (4 - 14 June 2025), which launched the original version of the programme with EFP a decade ago, will once again be the first in the row: this year’s selection includes stories centered around young protagonists who are exploring their place in the world.

In her third feature film, Ari (France, Belgium), having premiered in Competition at this year’s Berlinale, Léonor Serraille tells the story of a 27-year-old teacher caught between his longings for freedom and the weight of everyday pressures. As he navigates shifting social norms and evolving gender roles, his journey becomes a poignant experiment with identity and belonging.

Eva Libertad’s feature film debut Deaf(Spain) observes the nuanced relationship between a deaf woman and her partner as they prepare to have a child. Their different worlds—marked by communication challenges and uncertainty —are portrayed with intimacy, especially in the film’s quietest moments.

Hanami (Switzerland, Portugal, Cap Verde) by Denise Fernandes offers an enchanting glimpse of the island of Fogo, Cape Verde. The volcanic island is not just a setting but becomes a central character within the story of Nia and Nana, mother and daughter, who grow up apart. 

Renowned documentary filmmaker Mercedes Stalenhoef makes her fiction debut with I Shall See(The Netherlands). The film follows 17-year-old Lot, who, after losing her eyesight in an accident, must reimagine her future and confront her fears. With the support of friends and mentors at a rehabilitation center, she embarks on a journey of resilience.

Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia) by Urška Djukić centers on the shy 16-year-old Lucia, who befriends the extroverted Ana Maria in a Catholic girls' choir. When Lucia develops sexual feelings for a worker at the monastery, things get complicated. The film looks at the concept of sin through the eyes of a young girl on the verge of sexual awakening. 

After the death of her beloved brother, 12-year-old Eya feels that nothing is the same. Growing up in a Tunisian Muslim family in Brussels, she tries to deal with her grief. In her debut film,Têtes Brûlées (Belgium), Maja Ajmia-Zellama tells a story about loss, comfort and how memories can give us strength.

"EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN+ IN FILM continues to be a powerful platform for bold and original storytelling. This year’s selection is deeply moving - courageous filmmakers exploring the emotional terrain of youth, identity and transformation with clarity, complexity and grace. We’re proud to once again partner with EFP to showcase these vital perspectives and support a new generation of European women+ filmmakers", says Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley.

This year&r

 Photo credit: Mariana Maltoni

Kering and the Festival de Cannes are pleased to announce that the 2025 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award will be presented to Brazilian director Marianna Brennand during the official Women In Motion dinner at Cannes. Brennand was selected by Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu who received the Award in 2024, as each winner is chosen by the preceding Award winner to receive the prize, which includes a grant of €50,000 to support the creation of the laureate’s second feature project.

In 2025, as the Women In Motion program celebrates 10 years of recognizing women in the seventh art, Kering is proud to continue its commitment to promoting emerging female talent, exposing persistent inequalities in the film industry and beyond, and playing a part in changing mindsets and practices, thus providing women with an additional springboard for launching their careers. Reflecting a real but still too slow and uneven evolution, the share of women directors, for example, increased from 7.5% to 13.6% among the top 100 box office films in the United States between 2015 and 2024.

Every year in Cannes for the past ten years, the program has awarded inspirational figures and female directors whose first feature film shows great potential. The Emerging Talent Award, which comes with a grant aimed at supporting the winner’s second film project, notably allowed the program to support Leyla Bouzid (Tunisia), Gaya Jiji (Syria), Ida Panahandeh (Iran), Maysaloun Hamoud (Palestine), Carla Simón (Spain), Eva Trobisch (Germany), Maura Delpero (Italy), Shannon Murphy (Australia), Ninja Thyberg (Sweden), Carmen Jaquier (Switzerland) and Amanda Nell Eu (Malaysia). This grant strives to overcome the challenges linked to a lack of resources in a sector as competitive as the film industry. Some recipients of the Prize have gone on to receive international recognition for their second feature film: Carla Simón, for instance, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022 for Alcarràs, and Maura Delpero received the Grand Jury Prize in Venice in 2024 for Vermiglio.

Marianna Brennand, director of Manas, declared: “Manas exists because, for me, it is imperative to give voice to women and girls who would not be heard otherwise. The recognition this award brings not only amplifies our voices but reminds us of the importance of women directing films about women. To receive this award from director Amanda Nell Eu, whose work is so unique and brave, moves me deeply. I recognize the importance and beauty of being part of the Women In Motion community and would like to pay this honor forward to the manas who courageously shared their stories with us. I thank our crew and partners in the Manas team who held my hand for these last ten years as we weaved together this story that seemed too difficult to tell. I hope through Manas women feel seen, heard, respected and encouraged to break their silences. To all manas of the world, let us speak out.”
Amanda Nell Eu explained her choice: "Marianna Brennand's debut feature Manas was an incredibly captivating and painful story, with its luscious cinematography and strong performances by its young lead actors. Manas portrays a distressing but very real story of what many young girls face, deep in the wild surroundings of the Amazon rainforest. This film made me feel so much rage, anger and love for them, and I applaud Marianna for making this powerful film and giving this issue a much neede

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Women In Motion program, Kering presents the results of an in-depth study on the evolution of gender equality in film since 2015 and conducted by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, professor at USC and founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII)Illustration by Malika Favre  

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