Christophe Honoré to Chair the Queer Palm Jury at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

 

To mark its 15th anniversary, the Queer Palm has enlisted a major figure to preside over its jury: Christophe Honoré. A familiar face at the world's most prestigious film festival, Honoré will lead the deliberations on May 23, alongside a still-undisclosed jury.

Earlier this month, Honoré received an emotional ovation at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin during the second-to-last performance of Les Idoles. This play, recently revived after a 2019 tour, tells the story of six writers, filmmakers, and artists whose lives were tragically cut short by AIDS at the end of the 1980s.

No sooner had he drawn the curtain on this chapter of his theatrical work than Honoré returned to the medium that first brought him widespread acclaim: cinema. Following in the footsteps of Lukas Dhont, who presided last year, the French filmmaker and novelist has been chosen as President of the Queer Palm Jury for 2025.

A parallel award to the Cannes official competition, the Queer Palm honors one feature and one short film from the festival's selection that contribute to advancing LGBTQ+ visibility and narratives in cinema.

A Celebrated President

"The Queer Palm is fifteen years old, and I was delighted to accept the invitation to chair its jury," Honoré said. "Fifteen is the age when you hope for everything, fear everything, and are ready to fight for everything," he added, drawing a parallel between the competition's milestone and the passionate spirit of adolescence—an enduring theme in his work, from La Belle Personne (a modern retelling of La Princesse de Clèves) to his recent coming-of-age drama Le Lycéen, which introduced Paul Kircher to French audiences.

A Cannes regular, Honoré has had three films selected for the festival’s official competition: Love Songs (2007), Sorry Angel (2018), and Marcello Mio (2024). An openly queer artist, he champions a committed, progressive cinema. "At a time when contemporary creativity is once again under attack by reactionary forces, it’s all the more urgent to highlight and celebrate queer films," he said. "Being a filmmaker, being part of a sexual minority, and affirming the truth of one's desires in one's work is an act of reckless sincerity—one that makes you vulnerable. That’s why the Queer Palm is so vital at Cannes: it is a refuge and a stage, a battle and an embrace."

The 78th Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to 24, 2025, with Juliette Binoche serving as President of the Main Competition Jury. Laurent Lafitte will host the ceremonies, and American actor Robert De Niro will be awarded an honorary Palme d’Or.

The 2025 Queer Palm ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23 in Cannes.