Hello Reader,

Are you ready for Cannes? The 2025 Cannes Film Festival kicks off today, and while everyone's focused on the Palme d'Or contenders, I'm here to tell you there's a whole world of incredible cinema waiting to be discovered beyond the main competition.

For example, Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman (1975) — the film crowned as the greatest film of all time in the 2022 Sight & Sound Poll — screened in one of the festival's unofficial sidebars: Directors' Fortnight. In fact, Akerman's films have never screened in the Official Competition.

She's not the only cinematic giant not welcomed to the competition. Even Agnès Varda only ever screened in competition once, and Claire Denis has only screened there twice. Meanwhile, major filmmakers like Agnieszka Holland, Patricia Rozema, and Joan Micklin Silver have screened at Cannes but only in the sidebars.

To help you navigate how all the parts of the Cannes Film Festival work together, I've compiled a quick guide to the sidebars. Because, my goodness, is it confusing...even in my first year on the ground at the festival, I was lost!

​You can read the short version here.​

...or listen to the more in-depth version on the podcast...

Episode 171: Navigating Cannes beyond the Competition

In the latest episode of the Seventh Row Podcast, I dive deep into how to navigate Cannes like an insider. I talk about the hidden gems of yore and this year tucked away in the sidebars and unofficial sections – the films that might just become tomorrow's classics and the filmmakers you'll be hearing about for years to come.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• Why some of cinema's most influential films never competed for the Palme d'Or.
• A breakdown of Cannes' key sections (including Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight, and ACID) and what defines them
• Insider tips on how to stay updated on the best films at Cannes, even the ones that fly under the radar.
• My take on which emerging filmmakers in the sidebars this year are poised to become the next big thing.
• Heaps of past films you might want to check out (and related episodes)

Ready to navigate Cannes like an insider?

​Listen on Apple Podcasts​

​Listen on Spotify​

​Listen on your browser​

Stay tuned for my on-the-ground coverage, which starts this week!

Happy listening!

Alex Heeney

P.S. There is still time to join the May 2025 Edition of Reel Ruminators! If you do, you'll have a head start on one of this year's (likely) breakout filmmakers, by watching their best film to date. It's a South African LGBTQ+ film that is IMO one of the best of the decade. Doors close at midnight ET.