The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

Arthur Harari is a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He made his directorial debut in 2016 with the crime drama Dark Inclusion, which he followed up in 2021 with the adventure drama Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle. For his screenplay of the legal drama Anatomy of a Fall (2023), which he co-wrote with Justine Triet, Harari received the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, César Award for Best Original Screenplay and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.