From the biggest stars to the standout Canadians, our film editor answers your questions about the Cannes Film Festival | Canada Voices

On May 29, Globe film editor Barry Hertz answered reader questions on the Cannes Film Festival. In his own words, Hertz watched 20.5 films at the festival – and shared his picks of the best and worst it had to offer.

Readers asked about Hertz’s favourite films, the vibe of the festival in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, what it was like to be on the red carpet, and how Cannes’ biggest stars performed in their movies. Here are some highlights from the Q+A.

Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

The movies at Cannes

In one of your stories, you write that the Cannes programming team seemed to select a number of “highly polarizing” titles. Can you tell us a little about this year’s lineup?

Barry Hertz: A number of titles this year felt like they were carrying a lot of political weight, including Jafar Panahi’s eventual Palme d’Or-winning film It Was Just an Accident, which in keeping with the filmmaker’s canon takes direct aim at the ruling class of Tehran. Other movies were provocative without being necessarily geopolitical in nature, such as Alpha, which had enough hard-to-watch scenes and tricky subject matter to make audiences squirm.

Why was Mission: Impossible at the festival? Isn’t Cannes supposed to be more high-brow?

Hertz: Cannes is certainly high-brow in its official competition titles. But like every other major film festival in the world, it has a fondness (perhaps susceptibility) for Hollywood. It’s typical for every edition of Cannes to include at least a few high-profile Hollywood pictures that play “out of competition,” as to not completely sully the prestige of the brand. This year, it was M:I, which brought out the biggest of Hollywood guns in Tom Cruise. But in the past, it’s been everything from Mad Max: Fury Road to Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie.

Reading your take on Die, My Love, Jennifer Lawrence is very underrated as an actor. In my mind she is one of the best female American actors working these days.

Hertz: I agree that Jennifer Lawrence is a force to be reckoned with. And she is undoubtedly the very best part of Die, My Love. Her work in the film is so raw and unhinged, almost feral. Unfortunately, I feel that the film surrounding her doesn’t match her commitment. Or at least it isn’t sure what it needs to say beyond what Lawrence is conveying on screen.

What are your thoughts on the Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just an Accident?

Hertz: I wish I had some! Regretfully my schedule, which balanced screenings and interviews and meetings and (eventually) writing, prevented me from catching this one. You can’t watch ‘em all. But next year, I plan to recalibrate my expectations and build in better flexibility.

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You put Alpha on the top of your list? Must be a love-it-or-hate-it film, because I’ve only heard bad things about it. Makes me more interested to check it out.

Hertz: I am one of the few who seem to be defending Alpha out there, it’s true. And as I was watching it, I could immediately recognize its polarizing elements. But in my personal experience, I was just totally immersed in it, and found it to be exceptionally powerful filmmaking. Of course, watching the world premiere of it in the company of the filmmakers and cast adds an element to the experience. Let’s say that I’m eager to experience it again.

You didn’t enjoy The Phoenician Scheme, but could an AI make it? I still think Wes Anderson is an original thinker, and that is unique enough these days!

Hertz: An AI could certainly not make it. And while I didn’t find this Wes Anderson go-round as compelling as previous films, there’s still something undeniably singular about the director’s vision. I just wish this film had a bit more dramatic complexity or weight to it.

Covering the festival

The Cannes red carpet is so iconic! What was your experience watching all the action go down on the sidelines?

Hertz: I won’t lie: it was thrilling. Once you walk up those red carpet stairs at the Palais (the festival’s main venue), you really get a sense of the sheer spectacle and respect that Cannes reserves for the cinematic arts. It’s not even the celebrities walking around everywhere (shout-out to my most frequent celeb sighting, Jeremy Strong), but just the levels of energy and commitment that audiences and organizers show toward the films.

I heard the festival has a really strict dress code. Was it hard to follow the outfit rules – both for the celebrities (Halle Berry) and yourself?

Hertz: Fortunately I didn’t have to deal with any dress trains or high heels. But for the red-carpet evening premieres at the Palais (the festival’s main premiere venue), I had to ensure I was dressed in a tux. Or, rather, a black suit jacket, black pants, black shoes, white shirt and black bow tie. Fortunately, I found this out before flying to France, and was able to do some shopping at home. But I know at least a few colleagues who dropped some hefty cash while in Cannes to secure some last-minute attire. I’ll say for every other screening, though, it was typical festival attire: everything from slacks to jeans. No shorts, though. Or, I wouldn’t try it.

What was it like interviewing Bono? What is he like in person?

Hertz: As far as rock idols go, he was pretty down to earth and genuine. Friendly, open, and willing to stretch the interview time past the scheduled slot. Nice fellow!

Canadians at Cannes

Were there any Canadian-made films at Cannes this year?

Hertz: There were a few, yes, all of them out of the official competition. Titles include:

• Amour Apocalypse (Peak Everything in English) by Quebec’s Anne Emond, which played Directors Fortnight.
• Lucky Lu, which was directed by Canadian Lloyd Lee Choi but financed by U.S. producers.
• And more included in this article.

How does the way this year’s Cannes went bode for Canadian festivals like TIFF?

Hertz: I feel it was a fairly strong Cannes this year, with many of the higher-profile titles likely to end up at TIFF. I would be shocked, for instance, if such Cannes titles as It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value, and Resurrection DON’T end up playing Toronto.

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Do Canada’s strict CanCon rules prevent foreign film and TV from thriving here?

Hertz: Not at all. As we’ve seen for decades, Hollywood and other territories have no problem at all penetrating our audience. Rather, Canada’s CanCon rules when it comes to film and television can reasonably be argued to not be strong enough, which is why it is such a struggle to make anything inside this country and get reasonable traction either at home or abroad.

Did it feel like the Americans were on the defensive? How did the Canadians – Telefilm, NFB and TIFF – do?

Hertz: I feel most of the Americans on the ground were either embarrassed by the entire tariffs conversation or dismissive of it. A lot of “Nobody is worried about it” or “Nobody believes this is ever going to be a thing.” If anything, they were apologetic. The Canadians, though, were a bit more “elbows up,” so to speak. I think a lot of Canadian institutions recognize that this is a moment to capture — to shout out that, “We’re here, we’re doing great things, maybe now Canada, and the rest of the world, will recognize that.”

Hollywood and tariffs

What was the mood like at Cannes post-Trump tariffs?

Hertz: I would say it was one of cautious optimism, and slightly apologetic in tone. The Americans in town really wanted nothing to do with the tariff conversation. They firmly believe it’s ridiculous, or simply not feasible. While it put an initial question mark over the proceedings, it felt as if business was going down as usual, or at least as can be defined as usual in this streaming-versus-theatrical landscape. Lots of people just wanted to get movies made and shown worldwide. Although I’ll say that European producers were taking a much more Europe-first position — not wanting to rely on an unstable and volatile U.S. President to dictate their terms of cultural business and exchange.

Are the Cannes winners front-runners for the Oscars?

Hertz: About a decade ago, I’d argue not so much. But since 2019, Cannes titles have proven to go the distance. Think of such Cannes world premieres as Parasite, Anora, Anatomy of a Fall, Emilia Perez, which all went on to score big Oscar nods. Partly, the reason for this is the expansion of the Academy Awards’ international base of voters, which can skew more European and/or Cannes-friendly. But also, Cannes is just being canny about selecting strong titles, or at least titles that will have an awards-friendly sheen to them. This edition, I wouldn’t be surprised to see such Cannes 2025 titles as It Was Just an Accident and Sentimental Value end up in the Oscars race later this winter.