| Opening film | The Electric Kiss |
|---|---|
| Location | Cannes, France |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Awards | Palme d'Or |
| Hosted by | Eye Haïdara |
| Artistic director | Thierry Frémaux |
| No. of films | 21 (In Competition) |
| Festival date | 12–23 May 2026 |
| Website | festival-cannes |
The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival will take place from 12 to 23 May 2026.[1][2] South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will serve as jury president for the main competition. French actress Eye Haïdara will serve as host for the opening and closing ceremonies.[3]
During the festival, two Honorary Palmes d'Or will be awarded: to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson[4] and to American actress, singer and filmmaker Barbra Streisand.[5]
The festival will open with the French period-comedy film The Electric Kiss by Pierre Salvadori.[6][7]
Juries
Main Competition
- Park Chan-wook, South Korean filmmaker – Jury President[8]
Official Selection
The Official Selection for the 79th edition was announced on 9 April 2026, by the festival's President Iris Knobloch and General Delegate/Artistic Director Thierry Frémaux at a press conference held at the Pathé Palace in Paris. Frémaux noted that 2,541 feature films were submitted for consideration, with the initial main competition lineup featuring 21 films from three continents and five female directors.[9]
Pedro Almodóvar's Bitter Christmas is the only selected film that had its world premiere before the festival. At the press conference after the announcement, Frémaux stated that he hoped to add James Gray's Paper Tiger to the lineup at a later stage.[10]
In Competition
The following films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or:[11]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of a Sudden | Soudain / 急に具合が悪くなる | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium |
| Another Day | Garance | Jeanne Herry | France, Belgium |
| The Beloved | El ser querido | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain, France |
| The Birthday Party | Histoires de la Nuit | Léa Mysius | France |
| Bitter Christmas | Amarga Navidad | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| The Black Ball | La bola negra | Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo | Spain, France |
| Coward | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, France | |
| The Dreamed Adventure | Das geträumte Abenteuer | Valeska Grisebach | Germany, France, Austria, Bulgaria |
| Fatherland | Vaterland | Paweł Pawlikowski | Poland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany |
| Fjord | Cristian Mungiu | Romania, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden | |
| Gentle Monster | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Belgium, Germany | |
| Hope | 호프 | Na Hong-jin | South Korea |
| A Man of His Time | Notre Salut | Emmanuel Marre | Belgium, France |
| The Man I Love | Ira Sachs | United States, France | |
| Minotaur | Минотавр | Andrey Zvyagintsev | France, Latvia, Germany |
| Moulin | Jean Moulin | László Nemes | France, Hungary |
| Nagi Notes | ナギダイアリー | Koji Fukada | Japan, Singapore, Thailand, France |
| Parallel Tales | Histoires Parallèles | Asghar Farhadi | France, United States, Italy, Belgium |
| Sheep in the Box | 箱の中の羊 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| The Unknown | L'Inconnue | Arthur Harari | France, Belgium, Italy |
| A Woman's Life | La Vie d'une Femme | Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet | France, Belgium |
Out of Competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:[11]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'Abandon | Vincent Garenq | France | |
| Crescendo | L'Objet du délit | Agnes Jaoui | France, Belgium |
| De Gaulle: Tilting Iron (Film 1) | La Bataille de Gaulle: L'Âge de fer | Antonin Baudry | France, Belgium, United States |
| Diamond | Andy Garcia | United States | |
| Her Private Hell | Nicolas Winding Refn | Denmark, United States | |
| The Electric Kiss (opening film) | Venus Electrificata | Pierre Salvadori | France |
| Karma | Guillaume Canet | ||
| Midnight Screenings | |||
| Colony | 군체 | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea |
| Full Phil | Quentin Dupieux | France, Belgium, Luxembourg | |
| Jim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer (CdO) | Jim Queen à la recherche de la Chloroqueer | Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen | France, Belgium |
| Roma Elastica | Bertrand Mandico | France, Italy | |
| Sanguine (CdO) | Marion Le Coroller | France, Belgium | |
- (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
Un Certain Regard
Jane Schoenbrun's slasher Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will serve as the section's opening film.[12] The following films were selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section:[11]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All the Lovers in the Night | すべて真夜中の恋人たち | Yukiko Sode | Japan |
| Ben'Imana (CdO) | Clémentine Dusabejambo | Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway | |
| Club Kid (CdO) | Jordan Firstman | United States | |
| Congo Boy | Rafiki Fariala | Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, France | |
| Elephants in the Fog (CdO) | Abinash Bikram Shah | Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France, Norway | |
| Everytime | Sandra Wollner | Austria, Germany | |
| Forever Your Maternal Animal | Siempre soy tu animal materno | Valentina Maurel | Costa Rica, Belgium, France |
| I'll Be Gone in June (CdO) | Katharina Rivilis | Germany, Switzerland, Belgium | |
| Iron Boy | Le corset | Louis Clichy | France, Belgium |
| The Meltdown | El deshielo | Manuela Martelli | Chile |
| Strawberries | La más dulce | Laïla Marrakchi | France, Spain, Morocco, Belgium |
| Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (opening film) | Jane Schoenbrun | United States | |
| Ulya | Uļa | Viestur Kairish | Latvia, Estonia, Poland |
| Words of Love | Quelques mots d’amour | Rudi Rosenberg | France |
| Yesterday The Eye Didn't Sleep | Rakan Mayasi | Belgium, Lebanon, Palestine | |
- (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
Cannes Premiere
The following films were selected to be screened in the Cannes Premiere section:[11][13]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner | 黒牢城 | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan |
| The Match | El Partido | Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco | Argentina |
| Propeller One-Way Night Coach (CdO) | John Travolta | United States | |
| When the Night Falls | La Troisième Nuit | Daniel Auteuil | France |
| Visitation | Heimsuchung | Volker Schlöndorff | Germany |
- (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
Special Screenings
The following films were selected to be screened in the Special Screenings section:[11]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'Affaire Marie-Claire | Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller | France | |
| Avedon | Ron Howard | United States | |
| Cantona | David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas | United Kingdom | |
| John Lennon: The Last Interview | Steven Soderbergh | United States | |
| Les Matins Merveilleux (CdO) | Avril Besson | France | |
| Rehearsals for a Revolution (CdO) | خاطرات ایران | Pegah Ahangarani | Iran, Czech Republic, Spain |
| Les Survivants du Che (CdO) | Christophe Réveille | France | |
- (CdO) indicates film eligible for the Caméra d'Or as a feature directorial debut.
Short Films Competition
The following short films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or:
Cinéfondation
The Cinéfondation (or La Cinéf) section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The festival allocates a €15,000 grant for the winner of the First Prize, €11,250 for the winner of the Second Prize and €7,500 for the winner of the Third Prize.
Cannes Classics
The following films were selected to be screened:
Cinéma de la Plage
The section line-up includes classics films, commemorations and world premieres of new productions at the Cannes' Plage Macé. The following films were selected to be screened:
Immersive Competition
The following VR films were selected to be screened:
Parallel sections
Critics' Week (Semaine de la critique)
The Critics' Week is a parallel selection dedicated to first and second films. The following films were selected to be screened in competition:
Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes)
For a third year, in partnership with Fondation Chantal Akerman, the Audience Award will be given by popular vote. The following films were selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes) section:
ACID
The following films were selected to be screened in the ACID (Association du cinéma indépendant pour sa diffusion) section:
Official Awards
Honorary Palme d'Or
Independent Awards
Directors' Fortnight
- Carrosse d’Or: Claire Denis[14]
References
- ^ Dalton, Ben. "2026 film festivals and markets calendar: latest dates". Screen. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes 2026: accreditation is now open!". Festival de Cannes. 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2026-03-25). "Eye Haïdara to Host Cannes Film Festival's Opening and Closing Ceremonies". Variety. Retrieved 2026-03-25.
- ^ a b "Peter Jackson, Palme d'or d'honneur du 79e Festival de Cannes". festival-cannes.com. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ a b Roxborough, Scott (2026-03-11). "Barbra Streisand to Receive Honorary Palme d'Or in Cannes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (1 April 2026). "Cannes Film Festival to Open With 1920s-Set French Movie 'La Venus Electrique'". Variety. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ^
Shafer, Elsa Keslassy,Ellise (2026-04-09). "Cannes Film Festival 2026 Lineup: Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodóvar, Ira Sachs, Hirokazu Kore-eda Set for Auteur-Driven Competition". Variety. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Keslassy, Elsa (25 February 2026). "Park Chan-Wook to Preside Over 79th Cannes Film Festival Jury". Variety. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Cannes unveils 2026 Official Selection". Screen. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (9 April 2026). "Cannes Chief Thierry Frémaux Confirms He's Still Chasing James Gray's 'Paper Tiger,' Starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, for This Year's Fest: It's a 'Wonderful Film' and 'Very Indie'". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Cannes unveils 2026 Official Selection". Screen. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ "The films of the Official Selection 2026". Festival de Cannes. 2026-04-09. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ Dalton, Ben (2 April 2026). "John Travolta to present directorial debut 'Propeller One-Way Night Coach' at Cannes". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
- ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (2026-04-01). "Claire Denis To Receive Carrosse D'Or Cannes Directors' Fortnight". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-04-03.