The Cannes Film Festival is over. Here's some key things that happened

CANNES, France (AP) — This year's Cannes Film Festival is over, ending in dramatic fashion with a power outage ahead of the closing ceremony that bestowed the Palme d'Or trophy to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's film, “It Was Just an Accident.”

This year's festival included a strong slate as Cannes has become increasingly important to the Oscars’ best picture hopefuls. As the festival drew to close Saturday, it was clear that filmmakers are reckoning with geopolitical doom, climate change and other calamities that closely resemble current events.

This year's festival was an attention-grabbing affair since its start — from new rules for its red carpets, nerves about potential U.S. tariffs and the return of Tom Cruise.

Even in a normal year, Cannes is a lot to keep up with. Here's a handy guide of what's happened so far, what's left and what it may mean.

A power outage caused by arson affected southern France on Saturday, leaving Cannes without power. The closing ceremony was never threatened due to an alternate power source but it briefly brought another layer of uncertainty to the 12-day festival.

The awards ended with Panahi's win for his revenge drama and a call to action by the director, who told The Associated Press earlier in the week he planned to return to Iran after the festival.

“Let us join forces,” said Panahi, who has been blocked from leaving Iran for 15 years. “No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do or what we should not do. The cinema is a society. Nobody is entitled to tell what we should or refrain from doing.”

The Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Trier’s Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value,” his lauded follow-up to “The Worst Person in the World.” Some had expected “Sentimental Value” to win the Palme, but Trier — whose film reunites him with actor Renate Reinsve — still took a major prize.

Another big winner was Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent,” which took home awards for best director for Filho and best actor for Wagner Moura.

Monday brought a pair of surprises thanks to Spike Lee's latest film, “Highest 2 Lowest.” The first was an honorary Palme d'Or for Denzel Washington, who arrived for the premiere on a whirlwind trip on his only day off from starring in “Othello” on Broadway.

Another surprise came after the movie's premiere, when Rihanna walked the red carpet with partner A$AP Rocky, who also stars in the film.

Lee explained to AP how “Highest 2 Lowest,” an homage to an Akira Kurosawa film made with Lee's indelible stamp, relates to the original.

“I grew up with my mother taking me to musicals,” he says. “The Sound of Music” was one. “If you listen to that great song by Rogers and Hammerstein with Julie Andrews singing it. What did Coltrane do to it? That’s my analogy. What Coltrane did to ‘My Favorite Things,’ I think that’s what we did with this.”

One of the festival's biggest positive receptions came Wednesday for Trier's “Sentimental Value.”

The film stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning and is Trier's follow-up to 2021's “The Worst Person in the World.” While predicting what will win the Palme d'Or is notoriously difficult, a win for “Sentimental Value” would mark the first time a Norwegian film took the festival's top honor.

Fresh off hosting “Saturday Night Live,” Scarlett Johansson premiered her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” in the Un Certain Regard section. The movie is a funny and tender, character-driven, New York-set film starring June Squibb as a woman who coopts her late friend's Holocaust survival story.

On Thursday evening, many of the stars in the area for Cannes attended the amfAR gala to raise money for AIDS research and prevention effort. Among the notable items up for auction this year: a walk-on role in Lee's next movie and artwork by James Franco and Adrien Brody.

Cannes opened last Tuesday with a starry tribute to Robert De Niro, 49 years after “Taxi Driver” won the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or. De Niro used his own honorary Palme to assail U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent target of his criticism.

He also basked in the adoration of some of film's elite, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Quentin Tarantino.

Cannes debuted a complex 4K restoration of “The Gold Rush,” one of Charlie Chaplin’s most beloved silent masterpieces, timed to the film's 100th anniversary. “Our grandfather would be really proud to see this, a hundred years later, to see all you here and interested in seeing the film,” said Kiera Chaplin to a packed screening.

Tom Cruise took the spotlight on Day 2 with the latest “Mission: Impossible” installment, “Final Reckoning.” For such a high-flying franchise, Cruise kept his feet on the ground. That aligned with a recent trend — gone are the days of fighter jet flyovers, Jerry Seinfeld in a bee costume and other big stunts.

That Thursday, news broke that the festival had barred French actor Théo Navarro-Mussy from attending the premiere of the competition entry “Case 137” in what's believed to be a first for the festival in the #MeToo era. Navarro-Mussy has been accused of rape in a case that remains on appeal.

The next day, Bono premiered his documentary, “Bono: Stories of Surrender.” In a wide-ranging interview, the rock superstar talked about the insights the project has given him (including a deeper appreciation for his late father), his concerns about the dismantling of USAID and his first impression of Pope Leo XIV.

Ari Aster also debuted his COVID-era film “Eddington” to mixed reviews.

Over the weekend, Richard Linklater's latest, “Nouvelle Vague,” fared better with critics. So too did Jennifer Lawrence's performance in Lynne Ramsay's “Die, My Love,” already garnering Oscar buzz. Kristen Stewart, among a spate of actors unveiling their directorial debuts at Cannes this year, premiered “The Chronology of Water” in the festival's Un Certain Regard section. With her film, Stewart is trying to destroy the myth that directing is for a select few.

“It’s such a fallacy that you need to have an unbelievable tool kit or some kind of credential,” she said. “It really is if you have something to say, then a movie can fall out of you very elegantly.”

“My Father's Shadow” made history Sunday as the first Nigerian film to play as an official Cannes selection with its debut in the Un Certain Regard section.

“It means a lot to people back in Nigeria. It means we can exist on these platforms and our stories can exist in these spaces,” said director Akinola Davies Jr. “It’s a testament to talent that’s around in Nigeria. It’s a testament to the stories that are there. It’s a testament to the industry that’s flourishing.”

One of the buzziest moves by Cannes this year so far has been its proclamation that nudity is banned by festivalgoers and so too are “voluminous” outfits, in particular those with a large train.

The move to ban nude looks comes amid the “naked dress” trend on red carpets, including Bianca Censori's Grammys look and many of the outfits worn by Vanity Fair party attendees after the Oscars.

Cannes press officers said last week the festival “made explicit in its charter certain rules that have long been in effect.”

So how did stars at Cannes respond?

Halle Berry, who is on the festival jury headed by Juliette Binoche, told reporters she would abide by it and had changed her opening night look.

While risque looks have been in short supply, there have certainly been some “voluminous outfits,” including dresses worn by Heidi Klum, Chinese actor Wan QianHui and others. Berry stayed within the rules for the final night, but fellow jury member Alba Rohrwacher opted for an outfit with a large pink skirt that created some space between her and her colleagues.

What might Cannes call fowl on next?

People on the carpet in bird costumes, perhaps, as happened when someone dressed as a giant bird appeared at the premiere of “Die, My Love.”

At least it didn't spread its wings for the cameras.

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.

Jury president Juliette Binoche, center, poses with jury members Halle Berry, from left, Carlos Reygadas, Dieudo Hamadi, Payal Kapadia, Alba Rohrwacher, Hong Sang-soo, Leila Slimani and Jeremy Strong during the awards ceremony red carpet at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Pom Klementieff poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Bono poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Bono: Stories of Surrender' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Tom Cruise, left, and director Christopher McQuarrie pose for photographers during the photo call for the film 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Director Kristen Stewart poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'The Chronology of Water' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Rihanna, left, and A$AP Rocky pose for photographers upon departure from the premiere of the film 'Highest 2 Lowest' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 19, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and jury president Juliette Binoche pose for photographers during the opening ceremony of the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Wan QianHui poses for photographers during the opening ceremony red carpet of the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Tom Cruise, left, and director Christopher McQuarrie pose for photographers during the photo call for the film 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Hannah Waddingham poses for photographers during the photo call for the film 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Jury president Molly Manning Walker poses for photographers at the photo call for the Un Certain Regard jury at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

In parched southern Texas, a yearslong drought has depleted Corpus Christi's water reserves so gravely that the city is scrambling to prevent a shortage that could force painful cutbacks for residents and hobble the refineries and petrochemical plants in a major energy port.

Experts said the city didn't expect such a bad drought, and new sources of reliable water didn't arrive as expected. Those problems arose as the city increased its water sales to big industrial customers.

“We just have not kept up with water supply and water infrastructure like we should have. And it's decades in the making,” said Peter Zanoni, the city manager since 2019.

Corpus Christi, a city of about 317,000 people that also supplies water to nearby counties, is closely tied to its oil and gas industry. The region makes everyday essentials like fuel and steel and ships them to the world.

Zanoni said it is highly unlikely the city will run out of water, but without significant rainfall or new sources, residents may face forced cutbacks and industry may have to do with less. At a time when the Iran war is already raising gas prices, the shortage is hitting an area that produces 5% of the U.S. gasoline supply.

Droughts are common, but this one has dragged on for most of the past seven years. Key reservoirs are at their lowest point ever. The quickest fix is different weather.

“We are actively praying for a hurricane,” former city council member David Loeb said, half in jest. Loeb doesn't want anyone injured, but after wrestling with previous droughts in his time on the council, he feels the lack of rain acutely.

The drought isn't expected to lift by summer, leaving officials scrambling to tap more groundwater to avoid an emergency.

After the last drought in the early 2010s, the city approved a pipeline extension to bring in more water from the Colorado River and promoted conservation. In the years that followed, water use actually fell. The city, seeing opportunity, added a petrochemical plant and steel mill to its long list of industrial customers.

City officials had allowed for drought in their calculations — just not this kind of drought, Zanoni said. It has hit especially hard because reservoirs never fully recharged after the last one.

And it's come at a bad time.

After many years, the pipeline extension finally delivered its full capacity only last year. Meanwhile, discussion of building a desalination plant that would remove salt from seawater — a potentially drought-proof solution recommended in 2016 — bogged down over concerns about costs as high as $1.3 billion and environmental impact.

“If the then-city council had followed through on that, we would have had that plant up and running by now,” Zanoni said.

Corpus Christi has followed its long-established plan for reducing water use. Stage 1 seeks voluntary actions from citizens like taking shorter showers and limiting how often they can water. Currently, the city is in Stage 3, which means pauses on many outdoor water uses.

Many residents are angry that they can’t water their lawns, that their bills are set to rise sharply and that they may face fines, said Isabel Araiza, co-founder of a grassroots group active on water issues. Some don’t feel industry will be asked to share in the pain, she said.

The city's drought plan allows for charging residents and businesses extra if they use lots of water. But big industry, which Zanoni says consumes as much as 60% of the city's water, can opt to pay a permanent surcharge to avoid the possibility of having a much larger fee added in times of drought.

Araiza calls it a bad system. Once industry pays the surcharge, she said, they have no incentive to conserve water.

The city has defended the system, saying in a statement that industry does not “get a pass on water conservation” or forced curtailment. The statement said the business surcharges have raised $6 million a year.

It is wrong to suggest industry isn’t helping, said Bob Paulison, executive director of the Coastal Bend Industry Association. Companies have stopped landscaping, they recycle water for essential cooling needs and they are looking for alternative water sources, he said.

The city hasn't imposed extra costs on anyone yet.

But Zanoni said water rates may eventually double as the city invests roughly $1 billion on infrastructure — costs that some argue will disproportionately benefit industry and make life for residents more expensive.

The city is in a water emergency when it has 180 days before water supply can't keep up with demand. Officials have run through different scenarios for getting new water and the drought easing, and have said an emergency could come as early as May, as late as October, or not at all.

The city has tapped into millions of gallons of new groundwater, and it hopes to get even more.

The biggest unknown is the Evangeline Groundwater Project, which involves a pipeline and about two dozen wells that could add enough water to head off an emergency. It still needs state approval but the city hopes water could be flowing as soon as November. New sources come with drawbacks – some have raised water quality concerns, and there are worries too much pumping could deplete groundwater.

If the city has to declare a water emergency, it would be able to more aggressively curtail water use – mandatory reductions that would apply evenly to all industry and residents. That is a sensitive decision and is likely to be a “knock-down drag-out bloodbath,” Loeb said.

Because residents on average have already reduced their water use, future mandatory cuts are likely to fall heavier on industry.

“It’ll be an unbelievable disaster,” said Don Roach, former assistant general manager of the San Patricio Municipal Water District that has lots of industrial customers in the area. “When you cut the cooling water off to most of these industries, they just have to shut down. There’s no other way around it.”

Paulison said companies that produce fuel, polymers, iron and steel “have the least amount of flexibility in just cutting water usage.” He added, however, that companies remain optimistic they can reduce usage, adapt and continue operations.

Zanoni said the city's plans should buy time to avert the worst.

“We are hoping we don’t get there, but we don’t work on hope,” he said.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

A Citgo oil refinery operates next to the Hillcrest neighborhood Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A fishing boat works just offshore in the Corpus Christi Bay on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A ship is docked as the sun sets Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A Port of Corpus Christi police officer guides a boat through the port Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Birds fly over the Port of Corpus Christi as the sun sets Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Gavino Rivera talks about the decline of the Hillcrest neighborhood Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, as he gathers scrap metal near a Citgo oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)