Just hours before the Cannes Film Festival opening gala, jury member Halle Berry revealed she had to swap her planned gown after organizers unveiled strict guidelines banning nudity and oversized trains on the red carpet. Speaking at the Palais des Festivals press conference on May 12, Berry said her custom Gupta dress featured a train deemed too large. “I’m not going to break the rules,” she said, adding that the ban on nudity “is probably a good rule.”
Cannes officials issued a statement explaining the measures align with the festival’s charter and French law. Attire that risks blocking other guests’ passage or complicating seating in screening rooms may be refused entry. Festival programmers say the guidelines formalize long-standing practices rather than introduce new mandates.
Berry sits alongside jury president Juliette Binoche and peers Jeremy Strong, Payal Kapadia, Hong Sangsoo, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Dieudo Hamadi and Carlos Reygadas. The group faced rapid-fire questions on President Donald Trump’s proposed 100 percent tariff on international films, a move that threatens global distribution and raises studio costs.
Binoche said she lacked the expertise for a full assessment but suggested the levies aim to shield domestic industry. “He’s trying to save America and save his ass,” she said, echoing Trump’s style. Strong tied the tariffs to a broader assault on truth, citing his portrayal of Roy Cohn in Ali Abbasi’s Cannes-screened drama. He argued cinema can combat misinformation by conveying “individual truths, human truths, societal truths.”
When asked why she had not signed an open letter from over 350 filmmakers condemning Cannes’ stance on Gaza, Binoche offered only, “You will maybe understand it a little later.” Most jurors declined to address the letter.
Berry also weighed in on the idea of recasting James Bond as a woman, expressing doubt that such a shift—or a spin-off featuring her Die Another Day character, Jinx—will materialize. “There was a time that could have happened,” she said, “and probably should have happened.”
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Cannes 2025 runs May 13–24, opening with Amélie Bonnin’s French romance Leave One Day.
