Cannes 2025: DiCaprio Presents Palme d’Or to De Niro in Powerful Opening

The 78th Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday in its usual grand fashion, drawing the eyes of the cinematic world to the French Riviera. Hollywood heavyweights such as Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Quentin Tarantino were in attendance, setting the tone for nearly two weeks of red carpet glamour, world premieres, and passionate speeches. The festival has long been a touchstone of global cinema, and this year is no exception.

Major premieres will roll out across the next 12 days, including high-profile titles like Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, and Ari Aster’s Eddington. The red carpet was busy on opening night, with Juliette Binoche and Quentin Tarantino among the early arrivals. Though Leonardo DiCaprio skipped the photo op, he made waves inside the ceremony by presenting Robert De Niro with an honorary Palme d’Or, marking a poignant reunion of two screen legends.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly De Niro's moment in the spotlight. After DiCaprio introduced him as “the archetype actor,” the veteran performer gave a stirring acceptance speech. True to form, De Niro used the stage not just for gratitude but to speak out against political threats to the arts, singling out Donald Trump and his proposed 100% tariff on foreign films, according to Deadline. “Art embraces diversity,” De Niro said. “And that’s why art is a threat to autocrats and fascists.”

The opening night wasn’t short on spectacle. Quentin Tarantino theatrically opened the festival before making a dramatic exit. The ceremony also included tributes to Ukrainian cinema, the debut of Amélie Bonnin’s romantic film Leave One Day, and the premiere of a restored version of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush on its 100th anniversary. Adding gravity to the festivities, news broke of French actor Gérard Depardieu receiving an 18-month suspended sentence in a sexual assault case—one of France’s most prominent #MeToo moments to date.

The Cannes jury, headed by Juliette Binoche, includes a diverse roster of global talent such as Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, and Jafar Panahi. This year, 22 films are vying for the coveted Palme d’Or, to be awarded on May 24. Standouts among the competition include Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, and Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love. With such a wide array of voices and visions, the 2025 edition of Cannes promises to be as bold, political, and cinematic as ever.