2025 Cannes Film Festival: Full List of Winners
'It Was Just An Accident' won the top prize, continuing Neon's streak of Palme d'Or wins. Here's every major prize awarded at the 78th edition of Cannes.
Iranian director Jafar Panahi has won the Palme d’Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for It Was Just an Accident, a tense political thriller and his first film since being released from prison in 2023. The award was presented by jury president Juliette Binoche, a longtime supporter of Panahi’s work. The film, acquired by Neon for North America ahead of its premiere, continues the indie distributor’s streak of Palme d'Or wins. This is its sixth in a row.
Other major winners included Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho, who took both Best Director and Best Actor (for Wagner Moura) for The Secret Agent, and first-time actress Nadia Melliti, who won Best Actress for The Little Sister. The Grand Prix went to Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, while the Jury Prize was shared by Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling and Oliver Laxe’s Sirat.
In the Un Certain Regard section, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo won the top prize. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound starring Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa, a widely discussed entry in the category, ultimately left without an award.
All the Major Winners at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
Palme d’Or
It Was Just an Accident, dir. Jafar Panahi
Panahi completes the rare festival “triple crown” with his Cannes win, following top honors in Venice and Berlin.
Grand Prix
Sentimental Value, dir. Joachim Trier
Jury Prize (Tie)
Sound of Falling, dir. Mascha Schilinski
Sirat, dir. Oliver Laxe
Best Director
Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent
Best Screenplay
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Young Mothers
Best Actress
Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister
Best Actor
Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent
Special Prize
Resurrection, dir. Bi Gan
Camera d’Or for Best First Film
The President’s Cake, dir. Hassan Hadi
Hadi becomes the first Iraqi director to win a prize at Cannes.
Palme d’Or for Best Short Film
I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, dir. Tawfeek Barhom
Best Short Film – Special Mention
Ali, dir. Adnan Al Rajeev
Un Certain Regard Winners
Prize
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, dir. Diego Céspedes
Jury Prize
A Poet, dir. Simón Mesa Soto
Best Director
Once Upon a Time in Gaza, dir. Arab & Tarzan Nasser
Best Screenplay
Pillion, dir. Harry Lighton
Best Actress
I Only Rest in the Storm, dir. Pedro Pinho
Best Actor
Frank Dillane in Urchin, dir. Harris Dickinson
Camera d’Or (also awarded in main section)
The President’s Cake, dir. Hassan Hadi
Special Mention
My Father’s Shadow, dir. Akinola Davies Jr
La Cinef (Student Films)
First Prize
First Summer, dir. Heo Gayoung (KAFA, South Korea)
Second Prize
12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony, dir. Qu Zhizheng (Beijing Film Academy, China)
Third Prize (Tie)
Ginger Boy, dir. Miki Tanaka (ENBU Seminar, Japan)
Winter in March, dir. Natalia Mirzoyan (Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia)
Technical Prizes
CST Award for Best Young Female Technician
Éponine Momenceau, cinematographer for Connemara, dir. Alex Lutz
CST Artist-Technician Award
Ruben Impens (Director of Photography) and Stéphane Thiébaut (Sound Mixer) for Alpha, dir. Julia Ducournau
The 78th Cannes Film Festival unfolded with a few surprises and a brief citywide blackout due to sabotage. But the awards carried on, and with it, a historic win for one of world cinema’s most defiant voices.