The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films The Working Class Goes to Heaven by Elio Petri and The Mattei Affair by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French film L'aventure, c'est l'aventure by Claude Lelouch and closed with the British film Frenzy by Alfred Hitchcock.

Jury

The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1972 feature film competition: Feature films Short films

Official selection

In competition - Feature film

The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or:

Films out of competition

The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:

Short film competition

The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:

Parallel sections

International Critics' Week

The following feature films were screened for the 11th International Critics' Week (11e Semaine de la Critique):

Directors' Fortnight

The following films were screened for the 1972 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):

Awards

Official awards

The following films and people received the 1972 Official selection awards: Short films

Independent awards

FIPRESCI Commission Supérieure Technique Other awards

Media