2021 Cannes Film Festival

The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

The Official Selection was announced on 3 June 2021. French film director Leos Carax's musical film Annette was the opening film of the festival. Arthur Harari's Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle opened the Un Certain Regard section. The Honorary Palme d'Or was awarded to American actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster, and Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio.

The Palme d'Or went to Titane, directed by Julia Ducournau, who became the second female director to win the award and the first to win not jointly with another director (in 1993 Jane Campion had won jointly with Chen Kaige). At the awards ceremony on 17 July 2021, jury head Spike Lee made a gaffe by accidentally announcing the festival's top prize winner at the start of the night instead of the end.

Mistress of ceremonies was the actress Doria Tillier.

Main competition

 * Spike Lee, American filmmaker - Jury President
 * Mati Diop, French-Senegalese filmmaker and actress
 * Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer, songwriter and actress
 * Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress, filmmaker and producer
 * Jessica Hausner, Austrian filmmaker
 * Mélanie Laurent, French actress and director
 * Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazilian filmmaker, film programmer, and critic
 * Tahar Rahim, French actor
 * Song Kang-ho, South Korean actor

Un Certain Regard

 * Andrea Arnold, British filmmaker - Jury President
 * Daniel Burman, Argentine filmmaker
 * Michael Angelo Covino, American filmmaker and actor
 * Mounia Meddour, Algerian filmmaker
 * Elsa Zylberstein, French actress

Caméra d'or

 * Mélanie Thierry, French actress - Jury President
 * Audrey Abiven, French director of Tri Track (post-synchronization company)
 * Éric Caravaca, French actor and filmmaker
 * Romain Cogitore, French filmmaker and photographer
 * Laurent Dailland, French director of photography
 * Pierre-Simon Gutman, French critic

Cinéfondation and short films

 * Sameh Alaa, Egyptian filmmaker
 * Kaouther Ben Hania, Tunisian filmmaker
 * Carlos Muguiro, Spanish filmmaker
 * Tuva Novotny, Swedish filmmaker and actress
 * Nicolas Pariser, French filmmaker
 * Alice Winocour, French filmmaker

Independent juries
Critics' Week
 * Cristian Mungiu, Romanian filmmaker - Jury President
 * Didar Domehri, French producer
 * Camélia Jordana, French actress, composer and singer
 * Michel Merkt, Swiss producer
 * Karel Och, Czech artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

L'Œil d'or
 * Ezra Edelman, American filmmaker - Jury President
 * Julie Bertuccelli, French filmmaker
 * Iris Brey, French journalist, author and critic
 * Déborah François, Belgian actress
 * Orwa Nyrabia, Syrian filmmaker, producer and artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Queer Palm
 * Nicolas Maury, French actor and filmmaker - Jury President
 * Josza Anjembe, French filmmaker and journalist
 * Roxane Mesquida, French actress
 * Vahram Muratyan, French artist and graphic designer
 * Aloïse Sauvage, French actress and singer

In Competition
The following films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or:


 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Un Certain Regard
The following films were selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section:
 *  (CdO)  indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Out of Competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:

Cannes Premiere
The following films were selected to be screened in the Cannes Premiere section:
 *  (CdO)  indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.

Special Screenings

 *  (CdO)  indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.

Cinema for the Climate
Ephemeral section of films about environment:

Short Films Competition
Out of 3,739 entries, the following films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or.


 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Cinéfondation
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following 17 entries (13 live-action and 4 animated films) were selected out of 1,835 submissions. Four of the films selected represent schools participating in Cinéfondation for the first time.


 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Cannes Classics
The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 22 June 2021.

Cinéma de la plage
The following films have been selected to be screened out of competition, in the "Cinéma de la plage" section.

Critics' Week
The following films were selected to be screened in the Critics' Week.
 *  (CdO)  indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Directors' Fortnight
The following films were selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section:
 *  (CdO)  indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

Short and medium-length films

 *  (QP)  indicates film in competition for the Queer Palm.

In Competition
The following awards were presented for films shown In Competition:
 * Palme d'Or: Titane by Julia Ducournau
 * Grand Prix:
 * A Hero by Asghar Farhadi
 * Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen
 * Best Director: Leos Carax for Annette
 * Best Actress: Renate Reinsve for The Worst Person in the World
 * Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones for Nitram
 * Best Screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Takamasa Oe for Drive My Car
 * Jury Prize:
 * Ahed's Knee by Nadav Lapid
 * Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Un Certain Regard

 * Un Certain Regard Award: Unclenching the Fists by Kira Kovalenko
 * Un Certain Regard Jury Prize: Great Freedom by Sebastian Meise
 * Un Certain Regard Ensemble Prize: Good Mother by Hafsia Herzi
 * Un Certain Regard Prize of Courage: La Civil by Teodora Mihai
 * Un Certain Regard Prize of Originality: Lamb by Valdimar Jóhannsson
 * Special Mention: Prayers for the Stolen by Tatiana Huezo

Caméra d'Or

 * Murina by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović

Short Films Competition

 * Short Film Palme d'Or: All the Crows in the World by Tang Yi
 * Special Mention: August Sky by Jasmin Tenucci

Cinéfondation

 * First Prize: The Salamander Child by Théo Degen
 * Second Prize: Cicada by Yoon Daewoen
 * Third Prize:
 * Love Stories on the Move by Carina-Gabriela Daşoveanu
 * Cantareira by Rodrigo Ribeyro

Honorary Palme d'Or

 * Jodie Foster and Marco Bellocchio

FIPRESCI Prizes

 * In Competition: Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
 * Un Certain Regard: Playground by Laura Wandel
 * Parallel section: Feathers by Omar El Zohairy (Critics' Week)

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

 * Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
 * Special Mention: Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen

Critics' Week

 * Nespresso Grand Prize: Feathers by Omar El Zohairy
 * Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film: Lili Alone by Zou Jing
 * Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Sandra Melissa Torres for Amparo

Directors' Fortnight

 * Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: A Chiara by Jonas Carpignano
 * SACD Award for Best French-language Film: Magnetic Beats by Vincent Maël Cardona
 * Carrosse d'Or: Frederick Wiseman

L'Œil d'or

 * A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia

Queer Palm

 * The Divide by Catherine Corsini

François Chalais Prize

 * A Hero by Asghar Farhadi
 * Special Mention: Freda by Gessica Généus

Cannes Soundtrack Award

 * Ron Mael & Russell Mael for Annette
 * Rone for Paris, 13th District

Palm Dog

 * Palm Dog Award: Rosie, Dora and Snowbear for The Souvenir Part II

Chopard Trophy

 * Jessie Buckley
 * Kingsley Ben-Adir

CNC Development Support for Best Project in La Résidence

 * Saleh Kashefi for the project "Mammad"
 * Inbar Horesh for the project "Birth Right"