16th Queer Palm Selection - In Progress

A few minutes ago organizers started to publish the Queer Palm Selection from films in all sections of Cannes 2026. They started with feature films and imagine will later follow with short films and perhaps documentaries.

So, I'm starting this post that will be In Progress until films are at official festival site.

The 2026 edition of the Cannes LGBT+ award is the 16th and there is no doubt that what once was a sidelined award has become integral part of the festival. It wasn't easy for award organizers to get to where they are now, but perseverance and tolerance has made this award to not only survive but thrive. Congrats!

The Poster

Kwir Nou Éxist explores the emergence of Réunion’s young queer community, its bond to the island’s territory and to the lives that came before it. Developed over five years by Raya Martigny and Édouard Richard, the project weaves together photography, archives and video.

Raya Maratigany photography inspiration: «Ericka changed my life. When I was a child on the island of Réunion, I wandered a lot in search of my story — I often felt alone and lost. One day, I met a legend. I was 8 years old, searching for an identity, for things that would mark me for the rest of my life, that I could always draw from and that would always set me back on the right path. Ericka is a pioneer of LGBTQIA+ history on the island of Réunion. She is my fairy godmother who, through her flamboyance, raised a happy child. I chose to photograph her in all her magic, like my island’s own, both of which have overwhelmed my senses.»

News

There was a time when the Queer Palm selection had around five films in competition for this award and nothing says more how things have changed like a year with 21 feature films in the competition!!! A milestone record. As a matter of fact is the first time ever that from the 22 films in the main Competition, 7 are competing for the Queer Palm.

As Franck Finance-Madureira, founder of the Queer Palm says "This record number proves that queer themes are becoming increasingly commonplace. We are witnessing a form of normalization in cinema.." Let's hope is true and queer representation in cinema is becoming a normal occurrence in world cinema, even when in reality there is so-much turbulence and a strong trend of going back to darker moments in LGBT+ history. Now more than ever there is a huge need for LGBT+ visibility and Cannes 2026 will be a magnificent window for open-mind cinema and people.

The Queer Palm ceremony will take place on May 22 in Cannes.

The Selection

Feature Films

Official Selection

Competition
Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), Pedro Almodóvar, Spain (G)
Coward, Lukas Dhont, Belgium, France and Netherlands (G)
Garance (Another Day), Jeanne Herry, France (L)
La Bola Negra (The Black Ball), Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (los Javi), Spain and France (G)
La vie d'une femme (Life of A Woman), Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, France and Belgium  (L)
ナギダイアリー Nagi Notes, Koji Fukada, Japan (L)
The Man I Love, Ira Sachs, USA (G)

Un Certain Regard
Club Kid, Jordan Firstman, USA (1st Film) (LG?)
Les Éléphants dans la brume (Elephants in the Fog), Abinash Bikram Shah, Germany, France, Brazil, and Nepal (1st Film) (T)
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun, USA (L)

Special Screenings
Les Matins Merveilleux, Avril Besson, France (1st Film) (L)
Tangles, Leah Nelson, USA (animation) (1st Film) (L)

Cannes Premiere
Marie Madeleine (Mary Magdalene), Gessica Généus, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France (G)

Midnight Screenings
Jim Queen, Nicolas Athané and Marco Ngyuen, France (animation, 1st film) (G)
Roma Elastica, Bertrand Mandico, Italy and France (?)

Quinzaine des Cinéastes
Clarissa, Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri, USA (?)

Semaine de la Critique
Du Fioul dans les artères (Flesh and Fuel), Pierre Le Gall, Poland and France 1st film (G)
La Gradiva, Marine Atlan, Italy and France 1st film (G)
Seis Meses en el Edificio Rosa con Azul (Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building), Bruno Santamaría Razo, Denmark, Brazil and Mexico 1st film  (G)

ACID
Cœur secret (A Secret Heart), Tom Fontenille, France (documentary) 1st feature (T)
Virages (Summer Drift), Céline Carridroit and Aline Suter, Switzerland and France (hybrid) 1st feature (T)

Queer Palm Jury
Co-Presidents: Anna Moughalis, actress and musician, France
Thomas Jolly, actor, artistic director and stage director, France
Jury Members:
Raya Martigny, multidisciplinary artist, France
Jehnny Beth, actress, musician, singer, and songwriter, France
André Fischer, Founder and director of Mix Brasil, Brazil