Cannes 2025: It Was Just An Accident Wins Palme d’Or; Sentimental Value Takes Grand Prix Award|Here’s Full Winners List

After almost two weeks, the 2025 Cannes Film Festival concluded on Saturday, May 24, at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, with a ceremony to award the best of its 22 films. The winners of 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival were selected by a jury presided over by French actor Juliette Binoche. The jury members included Payal Kapadia, Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Alba Rohrwacher, Hong Sansoo, Dieudo Hamadi, Leila Slimani, and Carlos Reygados.

The Palme d’Or, the fest’s top honour, went to Iranian director Jafar Panahi for his revenge thriller It Was Just an Accident. The award was presented to him by Cate Blanchett. Binoche was also present onstage who cheered for him along with the crowd.

During his acceptance speech, Panahi said, “Let us join forces,” and added, “No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do or what we should not do. The cinema is a society. Nobody is entitled to tell what we should or refrain from doing.”

The Grand Prix — the festival’s second-highest award —went to Norwegian director Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value, while Sirat and Sound of Falling (tie) took home the Jury Prize.

The best director prize went to Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent, Best actor award went to Wagner Moura, for The Secret Agent, and best actress trophy was taken by Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister.

The Camera d’Or prize for Best First Film went to The President’s Cake, by Hasan Hadi.

Have a look at the full list of winners of Cannes 2025 main competition

Palme d’Or: It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi
Grand Prix: Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier
Jury Prize: Sirat, Oliver Laxe, and Sound of Falling, Mascha Salinski (Tie)
Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent
Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Actress: Nadia Melliti, The Little Sister
Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Young Mothers
Special Prize: Resurrection, Bi Gan

Other awards

Camera d’Or (Best First Film): The President’s Cake, Hasan Hadi

Special mention: My Father’s Shadow, Akinola Davies Jr

Short Film Palme d’Or: I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, Tawfeek Barhom
Short Film Special Mention: Ali, Adnan Al Rajeev

The prizes for the Un Certain Regard, the Directors’ Fortnight audience award, and Critics’ Week awards were announced earlier this week.

Unlike last year, only one Indian film, Homebound by Neeraj Ghaywan, competed in the Un Certain Regard category of Cannes 2025. It did not win any prize at the film festival though it received lots of praises from the Cannes audience. Ghaywan's previous film, Masaan, which competed in the same category at Cannes 2015, bagged two awards at the festival.

A Doll Made Up of Clay, which was Indian entry in the festival, also failed to win an award in the event’s La Cinef competition for film schools.

Un Certain Regard

Top Prize: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, Diego Céspedes

Jury Prize: A Poet, Simon Mesa Soto

Best Director: Tarzan and Arab Nasser, Once Upon a Time in Gaza

Performance Awards: Cleo Diara, I Only Rest in the Storm; Frank Dillane, Urchin

Best Screenplay: Harry Lighton, Pillion

Special Mention: Norah, Tawfik Alzaidi

Critics’ Week

Grand Prize: A Useful Ghost, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

French Touch Prize: Imago, Deni Oumar Pitsaev

GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: Left-Handed Girl, Le Pacte Louis Roederer

Foundation Rising Star: Theodore Pellerin, Nino

Leitz Cine Discovery Prize (Short): L'mina, Randa Maroufi

SACD Prize (Short): Sleepless City, Guillermo Galoe & Victor Alonso-Berbel

Canal+ Short Film Award: Erogenesis, Xandra Popescu

Directors’ Fortnight

Audience Award: The President’s Cake, Hasan Hadi
Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: Wild Foxes, Valéry Carnoy
SACD Prize for Best French Film: Wild Foxes, Valéry Carnoy
Carrosse d’Or: Todd Haynes

L’Œil d’or

Imago, Déni Oumar Pitsaev
Special Jury Prize: The Six Billion Dollar Man, Eugene Jarecki

Queer Palm

The Little Sister, Hafsia Herzi
Best Short Film: Bleat!, Ananth Subramaniam

Cannes Soundtrack Award: Kangding Ray for Sirat

Cinéfondation

First Prize: First Summer, Heo Gayoung (KAFA, South Korea)
Second Prize: 12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony, Qu Zhizheng (Beijing Film Academy, China)
Third Prize: Ginger Boy (Separated) by Miki Tanaka (ENBU Seminar, Japan) and Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan (Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia) (Tie)

Immersive Competition
From Dust by Michel van der Aa

FIPRESCI Prizes

In Competition: The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Un Certain Regard: Urchin, Harris Dickinson
Parallel Section (first features): Dandelion’s Odyssey, Momoko Sato

Prix François Chalais: Two Prosecutors, Sergei Loznitsa

Prix de la Citoyenneté

Citizenship Prize: It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi

Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai

AFCAE Art House Cinema Award: The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Special Mention: Sirât, Oliver Laxe

Palm Dog
Panda for The Love That Remains
Grand Jury Prize: Pipa and Lupita for Sirât
Mutt Moment: Hippo for Pillion