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 Harrari'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.
Juries
Main competition
Spike Lee, American director, Jury President
Mati Diop, French-Senegalese director and actress
Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer, songwriter and actress
Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress, director, and producer
Jessica Hausner, Austrian director and screenwriter
Mélanie Laurent, French actress and director
Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazilian director, film programmer, and critic
Tahar Rahim, French actor
Song Kang-ho, South Korean actor
Un Certain Regard
Andrea Arnold, British director, Jury President
Daniel Burman, Argentine director
Michael Angelo Covino, American director and actor
Mounia Meddour, Algerian director
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 director Romain Cogitore, French director, screenwriter and photographer Laurent Dailland, French director of photography Pierre-Simon Gutman, French critic
Cinéfondation and short films
Sameh Alaa, Egyptian director
Kaouther Ben Hania, Tunisian director
Carlos Muguiro, Spanish director
Tuva Novotny, Swedish director and actress
Nicolas Pariser, French director
Alice Winocour, French director
Independent juries
Critics' Week
Cristian Mungiu, Romanian director and screenwriter, 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 director, Jury President
Julie Bertuccelli, French director
Iris Brey, French journalist, author and critic
Déborah François, Belgian actress
Orwa Nyrabia, Syrian director, producer and artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Queer Palm
Nicolas Maury, French actor and director, Jury President
Josza Anjembe, French director, screenwriter and journalist
Roxane Mesquida, French actress
Vahram Muratyan, French artist and graphic designer
Aloïse Sauvage, French actress and singer
Official selection
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 Foundation
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.