The Oscar winning auteur struck a pose with wife Daniella Tarantino, caught up with Leonardo DiCaprio and dropped the mic, literally, after declaring that the 2025 Cannes Film Festival is officially open.

The 78th Cannes Film Festival opened Tuesday with expectations running high for what could be a banner edition. All of the ingredients — an absurd number of stars, top-tier filmmakers, political intrigue — seem to be lined up for the French Riviera spectacular.

Recent Cannes editions have produced several best-picture winners, including Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” and this year’s winner, “Anora” by Sean Baker. The sway Cannes has on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has only grown in recent years as the academy has expanded its overseas membership — many of them European voters who closely follow the buzz in Cannes.