The 79th Cannes Film Festival may yet be a watershed moment. Hollywood stayed away – there was not a sniff of a blockbuster to be found – confirming that the studios now see legacy movie marathons like Cannes as irrelevant in the influencer age.

That did not stop film stars such as John Travolta, Rami Malek and Penelope Cruz from attending, and the oxygen usually taken up by studio fare meant more indie films had room to breathe.

Whether there will be a breakout film like last year’s Sentimental Value, though, remains to be seen, with some critics calling this year’s event “Cannes ordinaire”.

Still, there were many outstanding films across the entire selection. Here are 10 of the best.

1. I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Clio Barnard, the director of The Selfish Giant, returned with the only British film in Cannes this year, a stirring tale of 30-something friendship that, quite rightly, took the audience award after playing in the Directors’ Fortnight strand.