Cannes Assembles Powerhouse Jury for 78th Edition, Including Jeremy Strong, Halle Berry, and Payal Kapadia
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A global roster of acclaimed actors, directors, and authors will decide this year’s top prizes at the world’s most prestigious film festival
The Cannes Film Festival has officially unveiled the jury for its 78th edition, blending some of the most respected names in film, literature, and documentary storytelling. The group includes Oscar-winner Halle Berry, Emmy-winner Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice), and acclaimed Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine as Light).
They join an eclectic panel that spans continents and disciplines: South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan author Leïla Slimani, Congolese director Dieudo Hamadi, and celebrated Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas. As previously announced, Cannes veteran Juliette Binoche will serve as jury president, taking the reins from Greta Gerwig, who led last year's panel.
Both Strong and Kapadia were fresh faces at Cannes last year. Strong delivered a fierce turn as Roy Cohn in Ali Abbasi's The Apprentice, while Kapadia won the Grand Prize for her poetic fiction debut All We Imagine as Light. Their elevation to jury status signals Cannes' continued commitment to embracing artists who bridge critical acclaim with cultural resonance.
Halle Berry, meanwhile, holds her own historic distinction as the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (for 2001's Monster's Ball). In recent years, Berry has expanded her creative reach, directing her first feature (Bruised) in 2020 and producing several of her starring vehicles, including Alexandre Aja’s thriller Never Let Go.
Rohrwacher is a Cannes mainstay, starring in competition titles like The Wonders, Happy as Lazzaro, and La Chimera(directed by her sister Alice Rohrwacher). Hong Sangsoo, known for his minimalist storytelling and prolific output, has had eight films screen at Cannes across Competition and Un Certain Regard sections.
Hamadi made his Cannes mark with Downstream to Kinshasa (2020), a powerful documentary that chronicled Congolese war survivors seeking justice. Reygadas, the iconoclastic Mexican filmmaker behind Battle in Heaven and Post Tenebras Lux (for which he won Best Director at Cannes in 2012), remains a vital voice in international cinema, both as a director and a producer for emerging talents.
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Slimani, though primarily known for her literary career, has strong cinematic ties. Her Prix Goncourt-winning novel Lullaby was adapted into a 2019 psychological thriller.
This year's Cannes lineup also promises an influx of Hollywood energy. Among the most anticipated titles are Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love (starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson), Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water(Un Certain Regard), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest with Denzel Washington, Kelly Reichardt’s heist film The Mastermind with Josh O’Connor, Oliver Hermanus’s The History of Sound(starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor), Ari Aster’s Eddington featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, and Austin Butler, and Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme, boasting a massive ensemble cast.
Scarlett Johansson will also make a double appearance—starring in Anderson's film and premiering her directorial debut Eleanor the Great in Un Certain Regard.
The 78th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 13 to May 24, culminating with the announcement of this year’s winners at the closing ceremony on May 24.
