The International Film Festival of Cannes has started today. Since 1952, it has served as an annual meeting point for the world of cinema on the scenic Côte d’Azur. To mark the occasion, SLEEK has taken the time to select some of the most exciting and (in our opinion, best) nominees as well as winners from the past 65 years for you.
Winner of the Palme d’Or in 1960, Federico Fellini’s classic follows a gossip journalist drifting through Rome’s nightlife, capturing postwar glamour, decadence and existential emptiness in one of cinema’s defining portraits of celebrity culture.
Winner of the Palme d’Or in 1976, Martin Scorsese’s neo-noir masterpiece stars Robert De Niro as a lonely Vietnam veteran navigating New York’s violent underworld, descending into paranoia, alienation and obsession.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990, David Lynch’s surreal road movie follows two lovers fleeing across America, blending romance, violence and dark humor into a chaotic vision of freedom and desire.
Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2015, Yorgos Lanthimos’ dystopian satire follows a society where single people must find a partner within 45 days or be transformed into an animal, exploring love, conformity and loneliness with deadpan absurdity.
Maren Ade’s 2016 tragicomedy follows a prank-loving father attempting to reconnect with his career-driven daughter, balancing awkward humor with a deeply emotional study of family and identity.
Spike Lee’s 2018 satirical crime drama, based on a true story, follows a Black police officer who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan, exposing racism in America through a mix of tension, humor and political urgency.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comedic thriller follows a poor family infiltrating a wealthy household, exposing class inequality through escalating tension and social satire.
Winner of the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2020, Thomas Vinterberg’s drama starring Mads Mikkelsen follows four teachers testing a theory of constant low-level intoxication, exploring friendship, midlife crisis and the search for meaning.
Alice Rohrwacher’s 2023 film follows an English archaeologist involved in grave robbing in rural Italy, blending myth, memory and romance with magical realism and a melancholic, dreamlike atmosphere.
Awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Mascha Schilinski’s atmospheric drama follows four generations of women on a remote German farm, exploring memory, trauma and inherited silence across the 20th century.
