Cannes 2025: Todd Haynes's Speech on Cinematic Truth Sparks Debate

Cannes 2025: Todd Haynes on Cinema, Truth, and the 'Queer Other' The Cannes Film Festival's Quinzaine des Cinéastes opened with a speech by acclaimed director Todd Haynes, who received the prestigious Carrosse d’Or award. Haynes' address offered a unique perspective on the nature of cinematic truth, provoking thought on the relationship between film and reality. He referenced a famous exchange between Jean-Luc Godard and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, highlighting the inherent ambiguity of film as a medium. "It was [Jean-Luc] Godard first who said, “Cinema is 24 frames of truth per second,”" Haynes recounted, adding, "And [Rainer Werner] Fassbinder replied that, “Cinema is 24 frames of lies.”" Haynes's speech explored the idea that cinema is a language, and like any language, it is never wholly innocent or pure. It's not to be accepted at face value. He emphasized the viewer's active role in interpreting meaning, suggesting that "the truth...is what goes on inside the viewer, translating what's seen into meaning." This process, he concluded, is akin to the way the retina inverts images before sending them to the brain. Haynes's remarks resonated with his own experiences, linking his perspective to the marginalized communities he often represents in his films. His concluding statement, "And it's how I like to think of truth in cinema as something inherently queer other," encapsulates his philosophy on the subjective and often unconventional nature of cinematic truth.