Today, September 10th, La Mostra award winners post starts as there are some winners already announced.
Post will be In Progress until after the awards ceremony next Saturday.
The Queer Lion award has been announced this afternoon and there is a tie with documentary Queer Edward II by Theo Rollason and feature film London by Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli winning both the 2026 Queer Lion.
According to the jury the following is their motivation.
Bridging past and present, the 20th Queer Lion Award has chosen to honor two deeply different works united by courage and a queer aesthetic that celebrates the body, desire, and a sexuality that is free, sincere, and unabashedly non-conformist.
Derek Jarman, a Master and a pioneer, boldly and avant-gardistically defined the narrative traits of New Queer Cinema, a language that, over the ensuing decades, has lent identity, visibility, and space to a type of filmmaking otherwise relegated to niche circuits. Theo Rollason, a young director, helped by an extraordinary editing work, brought a contemporary feel to previously unseen archival footage that had remained trapped in a cupboard for 35 years.
That legacy has now been embraced by Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli, two filmmakers able to elevate the queer body to a realm of self-determination, desire, and power, rescuing it from any attempt at lessening it. The young protagonists -in a setting that is only seemingly confined – embody an explicit, proud sexuality where fetish is play, dominance is freedom rather than violence, and identity is forged through pleasure, friendship, and resistance.
With charm and courtesy, Maestro Jarman faced down hostile criticism, production hurdles, and attacks from the press and political establishment; he wielded his homosexuality, activism, art, and HIV-positive status as a gentle weapon against a conservative world—one far from grasping a style that, for its time, was pure, courageous, personal avant-garde.
Today, Di Marco and Picoli symbolically carry forward that boldness, courage, and audacious kindness by bringing to the screen queer life and identity in all its multifaceted forms – including aspects rarely explored in contemporary cinema – proving that New Queer Cinema keeps evolving, growing, and engaging with the changes of a society it wants to depict.
For these reasons, the jury of the 20th Queer Lion Award presents the award to QUEER EDWARD II by Theo Rollason and LONDON by Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli – two extraordinary debut works celebrating the past, chronicling the present, and pointing the way to the future.
Winners are below in DARK BLUE.
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Today, August 19, organizers announced the feature films in Competition for the Queer Award. Still pending are Short Films in Competition as well as Out of Competition features and shorts. As soon as announces are made post will be updated with available info.
As we all know, the lineup of titles competing for the 2025 Queer Lion Award is compiled with the collaboration of Alberto Barbera, Angela Savoldi, and Paolo Bertolin for all the sections of the official selection, and in particular Venezia 83 Competition, Out of Competition, and Orizzonti); Michel Reilhac for Venice Immersive and Biennale College Cinema; Federico Gironi for Venice Classics; Gaia Furrer and Francesco Bonerba for Giornate degli Autori; and, Beatrice Fiorentino from Venice International Film Critics’vWeek.
They, along with award organizers, chose among the films with LGBT stories and characters dealing with civil rights issues related to different sexual orientations, equal opportunities, and fight against homotransphobia.
As always let's start taking a look at the official graphic image of the award and the reasons why this year the image is as seen here.
A few minutes ago organizers announced the winners for the 2026 edition and A veces me entra tristeza, otras veces rebelión by María Aparicio is the top winner with the following statement:
“A woman. A man. Encounters and missed encounters. A possible love story. Two great actors. A film that portrays the solitude of the present, holding together an intimate dimension and a political charge, inviting us to think about labor, immigration and privilege through a delicate mise en scène built on small gestures rather than big events. The personal and the collective, fiction and documentary, history and present time merge into a single breath. We left the cinema deeply moved, by a sadness and a spirit of rebellion that do not oppose one another, but coexist, as two faces of the same disorientation.”
Other awards are Europa Cinema Label and the People's Choice Award given to Une femme aujourd’hui by Robert Guediguian and Balcanica by Nicola Sorcinelli respectively.
To check winners at official site go here. Winners are is DARK BLUE.
Before today I have not write about Toronto fest as even do each year read what's going on, there was not much about new movies from around the world except USA. But everything changed when AMPAS decided TIFF was going to be one of the world film festivals where the winner of a prize will get an instant spot at the Oscars in the International Feature Film category.
In the case of TIFF is the non-English-language majority winner of the Plataform program the one to qualify to be considered for #Oscars2027 shortlist of 15. The fest until recently was a non-competitive festival and became competitve thanks to this section. For those who do not know, the program was created 11 years ago and gets its name from Jia Zhang-ke's ground breaking second feature, Platform.
AMPAS selection it also implied changes to Platform as now the lineup has expanded to 12 films as well as the jury which was expanded to a five-member international jury. All 12 films are World Premieres.
Update September 12, 2026. Yesterday this parallel section of La Mostra had their award ceremony where award winners were announced. The following is an excerpt of the statement by Beatrice Fiorentino, Artistic Director of la Settimana.
"A list of award winners that perfectly reflects the breadth of our program, from its most accessible works to its most radical, while above all recognizing its profoundly contemporary character, firmly rooted in the complexities of the present. We live in a world undergoing profound change, and the response from both the jouries and audiences was immediate... "
Before the War by Tommaso Usberti, Our Share of Sand by Shalini Adnani, The End of Times by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas are some of this always unconventional section of la Biennale Cinema. Award winners are below in DARK BLUE.
To check the complete statement as well as the award winners at the official site go here.
Update August 24. Today the last of the films in Competition was announced and is a documentary called NAZA by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor which are two of the four co-directors of Oscar winning documentary No Other Land.
Update July 23. Today was the very long press conference where many films were announced in the different sections of the Official Selection. In particular there are 20 films In Competition and perhaps one more could be announced to reach the 21 films maximum in this festival section.
A total of 4740 films and projects were submitted, 1972 feature films, 2500 short films, 60 restored Classics and 208 Immersive Projects.
This edition has 88 new feature films in the Official Selection, 20 in #Venezia83 Competition, 36 in Venice Open - Out of Competition with 25 being non-fiction films, 1 Special Screening, 19 films in Orizzonti, 8 in Venice Spotlight, and 4 in Biennale College - Cinema.
There are 18 new short films, 14 in Orizzonti, 2 in Orizzonti Out of Competition, and 3 in Venice Open - Out of Competition. Also 1 TV series in Venice Open, 19 restored feature films in Venice Classics, and 68 projects in Venice Immersive. It is a very large Official Selection that comes from 62 countries.
This year #Venezia83 Competition has only 1 female director and 19 male directors, which is a steep plunge from last year when there where 5 or 7 in 2024.
Most of the 20 In Competition films can be found in the #Venezia83 Rumors blog post and none is more relevant than the inclusion of Bucking Fastard by Werner Herzog that perhaps remember was supposed to be in the 2026 Cannes Premerie section; but, apparently was withdrawn from participation as was not included in the Cannes Competition section. Well, Venice said yes to be In Competition and now we will be able to watch Kate and Rooney Mara in the red carpet.
June is about to end and there are not many official news from organizers of the 2026 Venice International Film Festival; but, buzz is starting to go on high gear with possible films that will make #Venice83 competition and any other official or parallel section of the festival. Still, strangely enough, the full #Venice83 Competition jury has been announced before anything else and later, the Pre-Opening film.
But first lets start with some festival key dates.
June 4 was deadline for feature-length films late submission
July 13 - Press conference - lineup announcement. Date changed to "end of July".
September 2 - Opening Ceremony
September 12 - Awards Ceremony
Followed by a rapid reminder about the festival sections according to festival's 2026 brochure. According to last year's brochure and current brochure there are some changes; Out of Competition section has 10 more films, from 20 to 30, and Venezia Spotlight has 2 less, from 10 to 8.
Update September 2nd. I have been carefully reading AMPAS rules for this category and there are some issues that still confuse me as, for example, in the submissions requirements checklist it is clearly stated "The eligibility period for winning a qualifying festival award begins on October 1, 2025, and ends on September 30, 2026."; so, that means that Busan fest winner should be the one from last year and not this year winner. Still, will wait to see how AMPAS resolves this issue.
But what really concerns this update is the fact that Romania is submitting Fjord as the country's entry and according to AMPAS International Feature Film FAQ's "If a film wins a qualifying festival award and is later selected as the official submission of a country or
region, it will be considered an official country/region submission and listed as such. A qualifying festival does not receive an alternate qualifying slot if its award-winning film is submitted by a country or region. No runner-up or additional festival award winner becomes eligible in its place." Which means that Fjord by Christian Mungiu now is ONLY the submission of Romania and forfeit the need to be submitted as Palme d'Or winner. Also, unfortunatelly, means that Minotaur cannot be sent in its place, which is a true shame. Sigh.
Update May 24. It is over one more year and now one year waiting to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the greatest of all festivals.
Yesterday the Academy made big waves by changing rules for several Oscars categories but none are as significant as the changes in the International Feature Film category that will open to not only films submitted by countries or regions, but also to non-English films winners of top awards in the three major film festivals plus 2 more festivals. In other words, a single country or region could now land multiple nominations for Best International Feature Oscar.
Hope I'm mistaken but now surely will be controversy on how many film festivals are included in the qualifying list and my personal doubt is why Toronto and Sundance are in the list and not San Sebastian, Sarajevo, Karlovy Vary or Locarno? Well, let's hope they open the door only and in the future there will be more film festivals listed. Sigh!
Undoubtedly change generated out of the controversy or frustration when 2023 Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall was not eligible for the category as France sent a different film, plus the fact that each year there are more films that will/could not be sent by the country where it was filmed due to geo-political conflicts and are major film award winners like for example, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and It Was Just an Accident that were filmed in Iran but both film directors are Iranian dissidents.
Update May 8. There are only five films in the Short Film selection, so organizers decided that the winners of the Queer Palm Lab 2025/2026 will be the jury for short films competition. Post has become final as all films info is available at festival official site.
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Update May 6. Cannes Classics brings one more film to the Queer Palm Competition for a total of 22 feature films. The film is L'Âge d'Or (The Golden Age) by Bérenger Thouin.
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April 30
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.
Update April 24th. As expected a new addition to Quizaine Selection, a Special Screening, Les Roches Rouges (Red Rocks) by Bruno Dumont followed by a masterclass with the filmmaker.
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Today, Tuesday, April 14, Julien Relj, Artistic Director, announced the selection for the 2026 edition and yes, some films expected in #Cannes2026 Official Selection ended up here like films by Kantemir Balagov, Lisandro Alonso, Clio Barnard, Radu Jude, and Dominga Sotomayor. Most surprising fact is Quentin Dupieux having to movies in Cannes, one in the selection and one closing la Quinzaine!
Before going into the list lets star with a brief reminder of what this Cannes parallel section is all about.
La Quinzaine
Created in 1969 by the Société des Réalisatrices et Réalisateurs de Films (SRF), the Directors’ Fortnight is an independent sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival, which is dedicated to showcasing the most singular forms of contemporary cinema. The name of the section was changed in 2023 from Quinzaine des Réalisateurs to Quinzaine des Cinéastes, the international version in English did not change.
As opposed to the official selection, the Fortnight is non-competitive; it brings together short, medium- and feature-length films, fiction and non-fiction, live action and animation. Only one principle guides our selection: a filmmaker’s attendance to mise en scene, and their unique mode of artistic expression.
The Fortnight values freedom of thought and the invention of new forms of dialogue, of narrative, of representation, and of editing. We are also very attentive to propositions that reinvent cinematic genres which, traditionally, have been more popular.
A few minutes ago General delegate Pauline Ginot announced the selection for ACID, Cannes parallel section run by France's Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (l'ACID); ACID is an association of film directors which, since 1992, has been promoting the cinema distribution of independent films and encouraging debates between authors and audiences. The strength of the solidarity chain it has built lies on its founding principle: the support given by filmmakers to other filmmakers, French or international.
The selection committee with 13 members screened more than 600 films and programmed 9 of them. Amongst them, 6 first and 3 second or more feature films, 5 fictions, 1 fiction/doc hybrid and 3 documentaries, and as every year, a particular attention given to films without distributors. In particular, this year there are 2 films with a strong Iranian identity, which undoubtedly reflects the times we are living.
As they say, “This year’s program reflects both the alarming madness of our time and our boundless capacity to cope. Questioning our institutions, understanding the feeling of exile, rethinking our relationship to the places we inhabit and the people around us; striving to please at all costs, dying to better reinvent ourselves, and allowing a camera to reveal the world as we have dreamed it: whether through humor, fiction, or attention to detail, filmmakers expose the dysfunctions that permeate our societies and their impact on each of us. The films presented are all gestures that bring us together, stories rooted in a poetic, joyful, unexpected, but above all, free and unformatted reality. They thus appear as powerful acts of resistance—and hope.”
Update April 15, 2026. Short Films Selection was announced and are listed below. Post has become final.
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April 13, 2026
A few minutes ago Ava Cahen, Artistic Director, announced the feature film selection for the 2026 edition of the Critics' Week. Take note that the short film selection will be announced on April 15 and is when this post in progress will become final.
Most important is to remember that La Semaine de la Critique - the parallel selection of the Cannes film festival dedicated to first and second films - will be held in Cannes from May 13th to 21st 2026.
For the past 65 years, La Semaine de la Critique has been supporting the first steps of short- and feature-film directors from across the world with unwavering passion; paying close attention as artists venture off the beaten path to reinvent storytelling and experiment with new cinematic language.
Each new generation contributes to the history of cinema. It is captivating to see it unfold – an endless source of joy for La Semaine de la Critique to be carried away by these filmmakers’ imagination.
Update May 8. Yesterday the Cinéma de la Plage program was announced via press release and with 11 films.
With this update the post becomes final as info about all films is available at official site. That's it, unless festival releases extraordinary news. There are only four days to festival's opening day and let the major annual cinephiles feast begin!
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Update May 6. Yesterday the Cannes Classics program was released with 2 new films, some short films including one by Jia Zhang-ke, and some documentaries plus some restored films. The list is at bottom of this post.
Worth highlighting is that restored El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) by Guillermo del Toro will be presented as a pre-opening screening of the festival on May 12 at 2:30 in the Debussy Theater in the presence of Guillermo del Toro and in a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the film's World Premiere.
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