So far at Cannes: De Niro gets a Palme d’or, Trump gets criticized, nudity gets banned

The 78th Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday in the French Riviera, where guests were asked to dress more modestly.

“For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the Red Carpet, as well as in any other area of the Festival,” according to the 2025 festival’s website. “Voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater are not permitted.”

The dress code apparently surprised Cannes jury member Halle Berry. During a festival press conference, the actress told reporters she had to make a last-minute change to the outfit she planned to wear at the opening night gala: “I had an amazing dress by [Gaurav] Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train,” she said. “I’m not going to break the rules …The nudity part is also probably a good rule.”

The festival also began a week after President Trump announced that he wanted to impose a 100% tariff on films made outside of the U.S. Studios, streamers, filmmakers and other players in the entertainment world are worried about what any changes would mean for the global film and TV industry.

“At this stage, it’s still too early to gauge the potential impact of these announcements,” Cannes president Iris Knobloch told Variety. “However, I sincerely hope the global film industry won’t be paralyzed by caution or uncertainty. The sector is still recovering from the profound disruptions caused by the pandemic, labor strikes, and more recently, the wildfires in Los Angeles… Any system, in my view, should encourage cooperation — not competition at the expense of others.”

Robert De Niro accepts Palme D’or

During the opening ceremony, actor Leonardo DiCaprio presented Robert De Niro with the prestigious Palme d’Or award. The 81-year-old, two-time Academy Award winner was honored for his legendary roles in films such as The Godfather Part II (1974), Raging Bull (1980), Taxi Driver (1976) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

During his speech, De Niro criticized President Trump, who he called an “enemy of the arts.”

“You can’t put a price on creativity, but apparently you can put a tariff on it,” De Niro said. “Of course, this is unacceptable. All these attacks are unacceptable, and this isn’t just an American problem. It’s a global one.”

For the second year in a row, a small group of the festival’s freelance workers briefly protested outside the opening ceremony. The action was organized by the French labor collective Sous les écrans la dèche (Broke Behind the Screens), which aims to improve working conditions and to regain “intermittent employee” status for thousands of French TV and film workers at Cannes, according to the group’s website.

This year’s festival opened with a three-film salute to Ukraine, and the premiere of Amélie Bonnin’s French romance Leave One Day.

Notably absent was a festival regular, French film star Gérard Depardieu, who was just found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a 2021 film set. He was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. Depardieu’s lawyer says his client will appeal.