Last year’s Cannes Critics Survey at IndieWire saw near-total agreement: Sean Baker’s Anora swept Best Film, Director, and Screenplay. I voted in this year’s survey, and the results truly reflect how divided the critical response was—no clear consensus, just a vibrant mix of perspectives. This year’s survey, with 48 critics weighing in from around the world, produced three entirely different winners in the top categories. The consensus? There is none.
Taking the top spot — and my personal pick — for Best Film was Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât.” The film, about a father searching for his daughter after she disappears during a music festival, was both haunting and refreshingly unpredictable. “Sirât” led the vote, but just barely—11 critics named it their favorite, with Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” earning 10 votes, and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” close behind with nine.
Harris Dickinson’s debut “Urchin” won the Best First Film category, with “My Father’s Shadow,” and “Pillion,” all from Un Certain Regard, trailing close behind. And from the parallel sections, only one film managed to break through— “The President’s Cake,” which won the Camera d’Or and finished second on the first film list. Critics got it right, “Urchin” and ‘President’s Cake’ were the best first films I saw at Cannes.
BEST FILM
1. “Sirât,” Oliver Laxe
2. “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi
3. “Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier
4. “Sound of Falling,” Mascha Schilinski
5. “The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça FilhoBEST SCREENPLAY
1. “Sentimental Value,” Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
2. “The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho
3. “Two Prosecutors,” Sergei Loznitsa
4. “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi
5. “Sirât,” Santiago Fillol and Oliver LaxeBEST DIRECTOR
1. “Resurrection,” Bi Gan
2. “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi
3. “The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho
4. “Sound of Falling,” Mascha Schilinski
5. “Die My Love,” Lynne RamsayBEST FIRST FILM
1. “Urchin,” Harris Dickinson
2. “The President’s Cake,” Hasan Hadi
3. TIE: “Pillion,” Harry Lighton
3. TIE: “My Father’s Shadow,” Akinola Davies, Jr.