At CINTIMA, we often say that intimacy is a lens. And there may be no better place to trace how that lens has evolved than the Cannes Film Festival.

Each year, Cannes offers a glimpse into what the industry values. What stories we’re choosing to tell. What risks we’re willing to take. And, crucially, how we depict bodies, desire, connection, and power on screen. The 2025 poster selection of A Man and a Woman (1966) isn’t just a nod to a cinematic classic. It’s a reminder of how deeply intimacy shapes the language of film.

The ten films we’ve highlighted below capture moments when that language shifted. Some broke ground by centering marginalized desires. Others pushed us to sit with longing, silence, or discomfort. Many were made before Intimacy Coordination was the industry standard. That makes them bold, but also a caution. They remind us how essential it is to build intimate scenes with intention, clarity, and care.

Our Top 10 Intimacy-Defining Cannes Films

1. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959, dir. Alain Resnais)

A sensual and cerebral portrait of postwar love and memory that opened the door for non-linear erotic storytelling across global cinema.

2. A Man and A Woman (1966, dir. Claude Lelouch)

A tender, visually poetic romance between a widow and widower. Its iconic embrace has been chosen for the 2025 Cannes poster, honoring the film’s lasting influence on cinematic intimacy.

3. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989, dir. Steven Soderbergh)

Minimalism, confession, and surveillance collide in this indie classic that made interior intimacy feel dangerous, sacred, and cinematic.

4. The Piano (1993, dir. Jane Campion)

Eroticism expressed through silence, gesture, and sound. Campion became the first woman to win the Palme d’Or, proving that female-directed intimacy could be just as precise and powerful.

5. In the Mood for Love (2000, dir. Wong Kar-wai)

A masterclass in erotic restraint. Every frame aches with unspoken desire, creating a slow, simmering exploration of connection without consummation.

6. Y Tu Mamá También (2001, dir. Alfonso Cuarón)

A road trip through youth, grief, and sexuality. One of the first mainstream films to center bisexual male intimacy with nuance and depth.

7. Stranger by the Lake (2013, dir. Alain Guiraudie)

A minimalist queer thriller where explicit sex and suspense blur the lines between longing and danger.

8. The Handmaiden (2016, dir. Park Chan-wook)

Adapted from Fingersmith, this tale reframes lesbian desire as liberation. Erotic, intelligent, and subversive, it challenges the male gaze at every turn.

9. Atlantics (2019, dir. Mati Diop)

A ghost story, love story, and political epic. Two lovers separated by economic migration stay connected beyond death. Diop became the first Black woman to direct a film in competition at Cannes.

10. Titane (2021, dir. Julia Ducournau)

A body-horror odyssey where intimacy becomes transformation. Ducournau became only the second woman to win the Palme d’Or solo.

Each of these films marks a turning point in how intimacy is visualized, negotiated, and felt. They ask bold questions. What is desire? Who gets to express it? And how do we protect the people who bring it to life on screen?

That’s where we come in. As intimacy professionals, we aren’t here to limit. We’re here to collaborate. To ensure that what unfolds on screen reflects not just narrative intention, but the trust and communication built behind the scenes.

Honorable Mentions

These films didn’t make our top 10, but each one deserves recognition for pushing the boundaries of intimacy on screen:

• Crash (1996, dir. David Cronenberg): Erotic obsession meets trauma and metal in a film that scandalized Cannes and earned the Special Jury Prize “for audacity.”

• Je, Tu, Il, Elle (1974, dir. Chantal Akerman): Quietly revolutionary, with a rare and intimate depiction of queer love from a woman’s perspective.

• Room in Rome (2010, dir. Julio Medem): A one-night encounter between two women becomes a study in vulnerability and curiosity.

• Carol (2015, dir. Todd Haynes): Every glance counts in this tightly composed, emotionally charged love story between women.

• Love (2015, dir. Gaspar Noé): Known for unsimulated sex, but also prompts essential conversations around consent and artistic ethics.

• Climax (2018, dir. Gaspar Noé): Choreographed chaos where euphoria slips into violence.

• Under the Skin (2013, dir. Jonathan Glazer): Alien seduction as metaphor for gender, detachment, and power.

• L’Amour (1990, dir. Michael Haneke): A stark portrayal of intimacy and decay in later life.

• Bound (1996, dir. The Wachowskis): Not a Cannes entry, but a game-changing queer thriller made with authentic choreography, consent, and camp.