The Cannes Film Festival’s ACID section has released its 2025 line-up, presenting nine new feature films selected by a committee of working directors. Known for spotlighting independent works that operate outside mainstream formats, this year’s list includes filmmakers from Finland, Argentina, Iran, Portugal, Colombia, and France.
ACID, run by the Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema, began in 1992 with the intention of supporting work overlooked by traditional festival circuits. The section’s 2025 program was shaped by fourteen filmmakers including Camila Beltran, Jan Gassman, and Mona Convert. Eight of the nine selected films will screen as world premieres.
The selection opens with L’aventura, the fifth feature by French director Sophie Letourneur. Set during a family trip to Sardinia, the story unfolds through the voice of an 11-year-old girl who recounts their days on the road, interrupted by her younger brother’s constant intrusions. Letourneur plays the mother, alongside Philippe Katerine, who recently gained attention for his appearance as Dionysus in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Bérénice Vernet and Esteban Melero also star.
Letourneur’s approach emphasizes observation and rhythm over plot, according to ACID general delegate Pauline Ginot. “She’s trying to invent a new form for recounting everyday moments,” said Ginot. “That’s what we’re looking for—films that aren’t just scripts in motion.”
Several of the features take place in isolated or transitional settings. The Black Snake, directed by Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux, follows a man returning to the Colombian desert of Tatacoa to care for his dying mother. Produced in collaboration with Colombia and Brazil, the film addresses unresolved personal tensions and questions of heritage.
Drifting Laurent, directed by Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture, and Mattéo Eustachon, takes place in a near-empty ski resort during the off-season. The title character, jobless and without direction, drifts into the quiet routines of the remaining locals. As winter approaches, Laurent becomes unable to leave. The film stars Baptiste Pérusate with Béatrice Dalle and Djanis Bouzyani.
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From Finland, debuting director Lauri-Matti Parppei presents A Light That Never Goes Out. The film follows Pauli, a classical flutist returning to his hometown after a breakdown. There he meets Iiris, an experimental music composer. Their collaboration leads him into unfamiliar territory away from the rigid expectations of his past. Samuel Kujala and Anna Rosaliina Kauno lead the cast.
Lucio Castro’s Drunken Noodles, a U.S.-Argentina co-production, centers on Adnan, a young artist spending the summer in New York. While flat-sitting and working at a gallery, he reconnects with a figure from his past. As new relationships unfold, his perception begins to shift. The film references both personal memory and artistic exploration.
Portugal’s Pedro Cabeleira contributes Entroncamento, which follows a woman attempting to leave behind a troubled past. In a provincial town, she seeks stability but becomes entangled in the lives of its residents. The film features Ana Vilaça, Cleo Diára, and Rafael Morais.
Three documentaries are included in the line-up. Sepideh Farsi’s Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk is based on an extended exchange between the director and a young woman in Gaza. Farsi began video calls with her subject during a period of ongoing airstrikes. The resulting footage forms a film constructed from fragments of daily life and digital correspondence.
Namir Abdel Messeeh’s Life After Siham revisits family history following the death of the filmmaker’s mother. Through conversations and home videos, the project spans locations in Egypt and France, reflecting on the spaces between memory, loss, and imagination.
Sylvain George’s Obscure Night – Ain’t I a Child? takes place across the nights of Paris, following Moroccan teenagers surviving on the streets. The film, George’s eighth, uses long takes and ambient sound to record fleeting actions and unspoken connections. His previous works under the Obscure Night title were also structured around nighttime footage and social observation.
Ginot described the process of watching submissions as driven by curiosity rather than adherence to trends. “These directors never try to ‘make a point,’” she said. “They are interested in the tools of cinema, but also in humor and unpredictability.”
Eight of the nine titles are fiction, with varying levels of narrative structure. According to Ginot, many of the works are not centered around delivering a message but instead try to find new ways of using cinema itself.
The ACID section has previously featured early work from Justine Triet, Kaouther Ben Hania, and Martin Jauvat. Alongside the Cannes screenings, the association supports participating films through extended distribution. In 2024, the organization helped coordinate 150 international screenings and over 400 events through its network of French partner cinemas.
Ginot said that discovering new directors remains a motivating part of the work. “There’s nothing more fun than telling the world: ‘Here’s a newcomer who’s made a great film.’”
