Cannes Film Festival 2026: Key films, jury members, categories and everything else to know

The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival is taking place from 12 to 23 May 2026, on the sun-drenched Croisette in the south of France. South Korean director Park Chan-wook is presiding over the jury, and French actress Eye Haïdara is serving as host for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Cannes Film Festival 2026 schedule

The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival is taking place from 12 to 23 May 2026, on the sun-drenched Croisette in the south of France. South Korean director Park Chan-wook is presiding over the jury, and French actress Eye Haïdara is serving as host for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The official poster, designed by Hartland Villa, features actresses Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon on the set of Thelma & Louise (1991) — the closing film of the 44th edition. Two Honorary Palmes d'Or will be bestowed during the festival: one going to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, and the other to American actress, singer and filmmaker Barbra Streisand.

The Opening and Closing Films

Opening Film: The festival opens with The Electric Kiss, a French period-comedy directed by Pierre Salvadori.

Pre-Opening: Pan's Labyrinth returned to Cannes for a pre-opening screening — two decades after it earned the longest standing ovation in the festival's history, clocking in at 22 minutes. Director Guillermo del Toro supervised the film's full restoration from its original 35mm negative and was in attendance.

Closing: The Palme d'Or ceremony will bring the curtain down on 23 May, with Park Chan-wook's jury announcing the winner.

In Competition — Palme d'Or Contenders

A total of 22 films are competing for the Palme d'Or, representing three continents and featuring five female directors. Here are the films vying for cinema's most coveted prize:

All of a Sudden — Ryusuke Hamaguchi (France/Japan/Germany/Belgium) — Hamaguchi returns to Cannes for the first time since Drive My Car in 2021, which took three awards in competition before winning the Oscar for Best International Feature Film. This new work follows a woman running a struggling nursing home and a stage director with terminal cancer, led by Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto. Screen Daily

Another Day — Jeanne Herry (France/Belgium)

The Beloved — Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain/France)

The Birthday Party — Léa Mysius (France)

Bitter Christmas — Pedro Almodóvar (Spain) — the only selected film whose world premiere took place before the festival.

The Black Ball — Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo (Spain/France)

Coward — Lukas Dhont (Belgium/France)

The Dreamed Adventure — Valeska Grisebach (Germany/France/Austria/Bulgaria)

Fatherland — Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland/UK/France/Italy/Germany)

Fjord — Cristian Mungiu (Romania/Norway/Denmark/Finland/France/Sweden)

Gentle Monster — Marie Kreutzer, whose film features Léa Seydoux as a renowned pianist who relocates her family to the countryside only to uncover a life-changing truth. Catherine Deneuve, Laurence Rupp and Jella Haase round out the cast.

Hope — Na Hong-jin, a genre thriller following a police chief in a remote South Korean village drawn into a spiralling mystery after reports of a tiger sighting. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, alongside Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo, of Parasite fame, is behind the lens.

A Man of His Time — Emmanuel Marre (Belgium/France)

The Man I Love — Ira Sachs, described as "a musical fantasia of a city under duress" set in New York during the late-1980s AIDS crisis, starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge and Rebecca Hall.

Minotaur — Andrey Zvyagintsev (France/Latvia/Germany)

Moulin — László Nemes (France/Hungary)

Nagi Notes — Koji Fukada (Japan/Singapore/Thailand/France)

Paper Tiger — James Gray (USA/Brazil/Italy) — added to the lineup after the initial announcement, following Thierry Frémaux's stated hope to include it.

Parallel Tales — Asghar Farhadi (France/USA/Italy/Belgium)

Sheep in the Box — Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)

The Unknown — Arthur Harari (France/Belgium/Italy)

A Woman's Life — Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet (France/Belgium)

Un Certain Regard — A Certain Glance at Tomorrow's Cinema

Un Certain Regard — French for "A Certain Glance" — is a competitive section for more daring, independent works. The section's opening film is Jane Schoenbrun's slasher Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, while Laetitia Masson's comedy-drama Ulysse closes proceedings. Competing films include:

All the Lovers in the Night — Yukiko Sode (Japan)

Ben'Imana — Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo (Rwanda/Gabon/France/Norway/Ivory Coast)

Club Kid — Jordan Firstman (USA) — one of three Un Certain Regard films flagged as highlights ahead of the festival's opening

Congo Boy — Rafiki Fariala (DRC/Central African Republic/France)

Elephants in the Fog — Abinash Bikram Shah (Nepal/Germany/Brazil/France/Norway)

Everytime — Sandra Wollner (Austria/Germany)

Forever Your Maternal Animal — Valentina Maurel (Costa Rica/Belgium/France)

A Girl's Story — Judith Godrèche (France/Belgium)

I'll Be Gone in June — Katharina Rivilis (Germany/Switzerland/USA)

Iron Boy — Louis Clichy (France/Belgium)

The Meltdown — Manuela Martelli (Chile/USA/Spain/Mexico)

Strawberries — Laïla Marrakchi (France/Spain/Morocco)

Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep — Rakan Mayasi — the debut feature of the Germany-born Palestinian filmmaker.

Out of Competition — Premieres & Special Screenings

These films won't compete for the Palme d'Or, but they're unmissable all the same:

The Electric Kiss — Pierre Salvadori — the opening film

Diamond — Andy Garcia (USA)

Her Private Hell — Nicolas Winding Refn (Denmark/USA)

Crescendo — Agnès Jaoui (France/Belgium)

De Gaulle: Tilting Iron — Antonin Baudry (France/Belgium/USA)

Forsaken — Vincent Garenq (France)

Karma — Guillaume Canet

Midnight Screenings

For those who prefer their cinema after dark:

Colony — Yeon Sang-ho (South Korea)

Full Phil — Quentin Dupieux (France/Belgium/Luxembourg)

Jim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer — Nicolas Athané & Marco Nguyen

Roma Elastica — Bertrand Mandico (France/Italy)

Sanguine — Marion Le Coroller (France/Belgium)

The Fast and the Furious (Anniversary Screening) — A midnight screening of the 2001 film is being held at the Grand Lumière Theatre to mark its 25th anniversary. Producer Neal H. Moritz and Meadow Walker, daughter of the late Paul Walker, will attend.

Cannes Classics

The 2026 Cannes Classics selection presents 21 feature films, 3 short films, and 6 documentaries. The edition is dedicated to the memory of production designer Dean Tavoularis. Highlights include a restored screening of Pan's Labyrinth and a documentary on Bruce Dern featuring candid interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Alexander Payne, Billy Bob Thornton, and Laura Dern — screening in the presence of both Derns.

Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes)

The Directors' Fortnight is a parallel section focused on independent cinema and upcoming filmmakers. Kantemir Balagov's drama Butterfly Jam opens the section, whilst Quentin Dupieux's animated feature debut Vertiginous closes it.

Critics' Week (Semaine de la Critique)

Dedicated to first and second films, the 65th edition of Critics' Week was announced on 13 April 2026 by artistic director Ava Cahen, who said the selection focuses on "emerging filmmakers whose visions offer hope amidst a society in flux". For the first time in the section's history, the opening film is an animated feature: In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen. The closing film is the drama Adieu Monde Cruel by Félix de Givry.

Immersive Competition

Now in its third year, the Immersive Competition has selected nine works from eight countries, screened at the Carlton Hotel from 12 to 22 May. A new technical setup this year enables collective experiences for up to 200 participants simultaneously.

The 79th Festival de Cannes runs until 23 May 2026. The Palme d'Or winner will be revealed at the closing ceremony, live on France Télévisions and Brut.