7 LGBTQ+ films premiering at Cannes Film Festival 2025 that we can’t wait to see

Today the Cannes Film Festival announced the lineup of films coming to the 78th Annual event — and as expected, it is packed with exciting and intriguing films. This year will see audiences packing into the theaters to see the latest from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, and the final chapter in the Mission Impossible series.

But even more thrilling is the selection of queer-focused or starring films that will be screened on the French Riviera. Julia Ducournau returns with her latest, after having won the Palme d’Or in 2021. The long-awaited gay World War I drama A History of Sound will see Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s characters falling in love. Director Harry Lighton is set to make his feature debut with a BDSM-infused romance starring Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling. But that’s not all. Here are all the films headed to Cannes we’re most excited to see.

‘Pillion’ directed by Harry Lighton

Director Harry Lighton makes his feature directorial debut with the buzzy and steamy drama, Pillion, which follows a young man joining a group of sexually liberated bikers and begins exploring the world of BDSM. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard as the biker gang leader and Harry Melling as his soon-to-be sub.

‘The History of Sound’ directed by Oliver Hermanus

Queer fans everywhere have been waiting with bated breath to finally see Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal fall in love in this WWI-set period drama,The History of Sound. The film follows two men named Lionel (Mescal) and David (O’Connor) who set out to record the lives, voices, and music of their American countrymen during World War I. Director Hermanus previously won the Queer Palm in 2011 for his film Beauty.

‘La Petite Dernière’ directed by Hafsia Herzi

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel Fatima Daas, in this French-German drama series, Fatima, the youngest daughter in an Algerian immigrant family, comes to terms with her identity as she prepares for her new life at university.

‘Alpha’ directed by Julia Ducournau

Julia Ducournau, whose film Titane earned the director the Palme d’Or in 2021, is back with her latest, Alpha. Set in the 1980s in a New York-like city, a young girl is faced with mortality for the first time when one of her parents is struck ill during the AIDS crisis. While the film’s description is not explicitly queer both of Ducournau’s previous films centered on LGTBQ+ characters so there is a very good chance this one will feature queer characters, as well. Regardless, anything from this director is a must-watch.

‘Fuori’ directed by Mario Martone

Another film taking inspiration from an autobiography (L’Università di Rebibbia), this Italian drama takes place in Rome in the 1980s and follows a woman’s experience in prison following an act of desperation. Once inside the prison walls, she forms powerful bonds with her fellow inmates and makes many self-discoveries, including around her identity.

‘Romería’ directed by Carla Simón

In Romería an orphaned young woman seeks out her paternal grandparents in hopes of earning a scholarship, upon meeting her family for the first time she uncovers unknown truths about her family, how they navigated the struggles they faced including drugs and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’ (La Misteriosa Mirada del Flamenco) directed by Diego Céspedes

The 1980s is proving to be a hot era for films at this year's festival. This Chilean drama is set during that decade and sees a young girl named Lydia who lives with her queer uncle in a remote mining village. The town is struck by a strange illness that is rumored to be caused by love with another man through eye contact.

Bonus: ‘The Secret Agent’ (O Secreto Agente) directed by  Kleber Mendonça Filho

This Brazilian drama is set in 1977 at the end of that country’s military dictatorship. Marcelo, in an attempt to leave his past behind, relocates to a new city only to discover he can’t run away from his troubled history. While the description is not queer, the film stars Udo Kier and so we’re including it as an honorary mention.

‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ directed by Christopher McQuarrie

The final chapter in Ethan Hunt's wild and worldwide espionage adventures has finally come. In it, Hunt must face off with his most sinister adversary yet, a rogue AI. Listen, we love a good action movie but we're here because Katy O’Brian is here. When she is on screen, we are seated.

Bonus: ‘Eddington’ directed by Ari Aster

Ari Aster has yet to make a movie we did not at least feel deeply impacted and challenged by. Some we absolutely loved. Some we absolutely respected. This year, audiences get to see which of those two buckets his latest will fall into. This time, Aster is offering his take on the American contemporary western with a dark comedy about a small-town sheriff in New Mexico, set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much like with Katy O’Brian, anything that stars Pedro Pascal earns us an automatic watch. Few celebs are more universally beloved by the LGBTQ+ community than this ruggedly handsome and utterly charming hunk.