#Cannes2026 Wish List - Maybe French

Update: After noticing that most films I was choosing for this post are not by French directors, but are in the French-Language and/or have a relevant French cast decided to include all films that called my attention no matter if they can be called or not French.

So there could be films from France, Europe, Asia and any other world region with a film in the generic wish list, spoken in French totally, partially or not, with a French cast or not, filmed totally or partially in France or not, and is majority or minority French produced.

Nevertheless kept the original introduction that includes interesting info about the fest and French productions.

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There is no surprise that generic Wish List in The French section has the most films as many of you know I'm crazy about French "good" cinema and by good I mostly mean what some call cinéma d'auteur or non-commercial cinema. So choosing films to go in-depth is no easy task; still, there are some that even in such long list pop-out and shine, those will be mentioned here.

But we also have to recall that as in many film lists there are always too-many European films and Cannes perhaps is one of the festivals where European films predominate above films from any other region.

As a France based festival during many years has been a showcase for French films and when it hasn't have enough French films there was pressure from festival sponsors (the government and private companies related or not to cinema) that you could see and feel depicted in French media. It was this kind of pressure that "forced" organizers to exclude Netflix first and now any other streaming film producing companies from participating in the festival competition and the reason why nowadays good quality films produced by streamers go to Venice. Unfortunately as far as I can foresee the future I do not see changes to this policy that harms Cannes and benefits Venice.

Not all films in the generic wish list nor in this one will go to the main competition because as far as I remember, festival has a quota for French films in Competition, 4 to 6 films. Nevertheless films in this post could go to any official section of the festival as well as the parallel sections that now abound (there is a new one this year).

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Andrei Zvyagintsev - Russian based in France
Minotaur, France, Germany and Latvia

One of my favorite contemporary directors now living in France that seems has recovered from severe illness and now is back to filmmaking.

According to IMDb has 76 wins and 70 nominations but believe that most of us recall the films that premiered in Cannes and in la Biennale di Venezia where his films have won major accolades.

Hard to do a brief summary of his films but from my point of view its his debut film 2003 Venezia's Golden Lion winner The Return the one that mark me and made me one of this most loyal admirers; but his second film from Cannes 2007 competition The Banishment absolutely blew my mind and is a film that my eyes have revisited several times because it's outstanding visual pleasure images and framing style.

Since The Banishment all his films have opened in Cannes, Elena in 2011 (UCR Special Jury Prize winner), Leviathan in 2014 (Best Screenplay winner), Loveless in 2017 (Jury Prize winner) and there is very little doubt that, if film is ready, Minotaur will open in 2026 Cannes. His filmography has only 5 films, Minotaur will be his sixth, which is a small one but probably is due to the fact that he was an actor before becoming a director.

Minotaur is produced by France's CG Cinema and MK Productions in association with Leaf Entertainment. Co-production partners include Germany's Razor Film and Latvia's Forma Pro Films with backing from Arte France Cinéma. International sales go to mk2 Films, France sales to Films du Losange and Berlgian Lumiere handling distribution in the Benelux region.

If film is ready, is submitted and is accepted, then there is very little doubt that film could be in Cannes main competition.

Check synopsis
When Gleb, a successful company director, finds himself under siege from mounting corporate pressures, an increasingly unstable world, and the discovery of his wife's affair, the collapse of his carefully ordered life accelerates toward violence.

There is no film still available yet so here is Zvyagintsev's photo with Minotaur clapperboard. I'm truly glad he looks fine and healthy.



Asghar Farhadi - Iran and France
Histoires parallèles (Parallel Tales), France, Belgium, USA, and Italy

Another of my favorite directors with an impeccable career since his very first film, 2003's Dancing in the Dust screened at Moscow Film Festival where it won both the Best Leading Actor and Film Critics Award; his second feature 2004 Beautiful City won Best feature film award at Warsaw Film Festival plus more in other festivals.

I was introduced to Farhadi with his third film Fireworks Wednesday that was an award winner at Locarno Film festival and was successful in many other festivals. I was marveled by this movie that took me by surprise as by then I was only familiar with Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. It is since this film that I very closely follow his career.

His fourth film About Elly won the Silver Bear for Best director at 2009 Berlinale which had a worldwide impact; after came A Separation winner of the Golden Bear plus more top awards at 2011 Berlinale and went to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film plus a nomination for Farhadi in the Original Screenplay category.

Finally Cannes opened its doors to The Past, Farhadi sixth feature that won the Best Actress award at 2013 Cannes; the seventh film, The Salesman won the Best Screenplay and Best Actor at 2016 Cannes and went to win Best Foreign Language Film at 2017 Oscars. His eighth film Everybody Knows opened in 2018 Cannes, and his ninth film A Hero went to win the Grand Prix at 2021 Cannes. We can see that all his nine films have opened in film festivals, have won top awards and since 2013 films have been in the main competition at Festival de Cannes.

So, if film is ready, there is very little doubt that his eleventh film will open in competition at 2026 Cannes, unless there is a strange occurrence and goes to Venice as he has never been there; but in reality, is highly unlikely as film has a strong French cast with the best of the best of French cinema: Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney and a cameo by Catherine Deneuve. Not since 2002 8 Women by François Ozon, Huppert and Deneuve have been together in the same movie and surely is a cinema event event if Deneuve does only a cameo.

Filmed in Paris it is led by French company Memento Production (it's the fifth collaboration between Farhadi and Memento) with co-production from US-based Anonymous Content, Italia's Lucky Red and Belgium's Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique. Unifrance lists only three production companies with the following production proportions France 69.7%, Belgium 20%, and Italy 10%; so film is a majority French production.

Parallel Tales international sales agent is France's Charades and UTA Independent Film Group has USA rights; French Memento Distribution handles distribution in France with a release date in Spring 2026 (we know what that date means), and Charades and UTA did pre-sales at 2025 Cannes film market. According to Unifrance, StudioCanal Deustchland does distribution in Germany and Avalon Productions in Spain.

Synopsis of the screenplay by Asghar Farhadi and adapted by Massoumeh Lahidji is being kept under wraps for the time being, but reliable press outlet mentions that "allegedly" story rotates around the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks with interlocking multiple perspectives. While Farhadi's films in his mother-tongue have done extremely well, when he ventures into a different language films didn't live up to his finest work; so, let's hope this film is the exception, as is his second one in French-language.

No film still available but from producer site here is Farhadi with Isabelle Huppert.



Marie Kreutzer - Austria
Gentle Monster, Austria, Germany and France

Marie Kreutzer has been directing feature films since 2011 when her debut won an Honorable Mention at 2011 Berlinale; but perhaps she's better known for The Ground Beneath My Feet that opened at 2019 Berlinale and Corsage that opened in 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard with Vicky Krieps winning UCR's Best Performance.

Have to admit that Gentle Monster calls more my attention because of the cast France's Léa Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve, Austria's Laurence Rupp, and Germany's Jella Hasse; as not often two of my favorite actresses, Seydoux and Deneuve, share the screen and of course will not miss the opportunity to see them. Corsage was a good movie but believe Kreutzer still has a developing filmmaking style, perhaps Gentle Monster shows insights into what could become his particular style.

Production led by Austria's Film AG in co-production with Germany's Komplizen Film and France's Kazak Production. According to Unifrance the proportion of production costs is as follows: Austria 52.33%, Germany 37.57%, and France 10.1%; so, it's a minority French production. Filming was in Austria and Germany and world sales are handled by France's mk2 Films.


Gentle Moster was selected as one of ten projects at Cannes Marché du Film Investors Circle, where producers from Film AG picked up the ArteKino International Prize of €20,000.

Film synopsis
Lucy loves Philip and, after his burnout, moved to the countryside with him and their son, even though this meant professional constraints for her. Elsa, on the other hand, lives for her job as a special investigator with the police, but is kept busy by the responsibility for her demented father. Both build their lives around men whose dark sides they'd rather not see. A story about Lucy and Elsa, about trust and deception, about love and violence.

No film stills or images available yet. I imagine if this film is submitted to Cannes and gets accepted could go to Un Certain Regard or perhaps to la Quinzaine.

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi - Japan
Soudain (All of the Suden), Japan, France, Belgium and Germany

This is the film that made me change this post name as had to include it in this list. Have to admit that have seen very little from this director, only two films that absolutely got my total attention and made me a fan, Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist. Still, this is a well-known director that according to imDb has earn 65 wins and 106 nominations during his career that started in 2003 with Like Nothing Happened and includes 18 feature films.

From all his films several have opened at renown film festivals, Happy Hour in 2015 Locarno winning Best Actress and Screenplay special mention, Asako I and II in 2018 Cannes, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy in 2021 Berlinale where won the Jury Grand Prix, Evil Does Not Exists in 2023 Venice where won the Jury Grand Prize and several collateral awards, and then there is Drive My Car.

Drive My Car opened in 2021 Cannes in Competition where won Best Screenplay, prestigious FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury; became Japan's submission to 2022 Oscars International Feature Film, won the Oscar, and also got nominations for Directing, Adapted Screenplay and Best Film. It was my first Hamaguchi film and definitively not the last one as interest in this director grew exponentially.

Soudain is in French and Japanese, is a majority French production (79.7%), and is director's first non-Japanese movie which gives me some chills as like said before, non mother tongue first timers not always do as well as how they do in the native language. Still, film is with one of the most talented Belgian actresses Virginie Efira which gives hopes will help better results.

Screenplay is written by director in collaboration with Léa Le Dimna and loosely inspired by a collection of real-life exchanged letters published in the book When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn: Twenty Letters Between a Philosopher with Terminal Cancer and Medical Anthropologist by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono.

Filming was in Paris and Kyoto. Production by France's Cinéfrance Studios, Japan's Bitters End Inc. and Shirous Office, Belgium's Tarantula and Germany's Helmat Films, along with support from Arte France Cinéma. France's Diaphana for France's distribution, Caramel Films for Spain and Neon acquired in 2026 Berlinale EFM rights for North America.

Film synopsis
Marie-Lou Fontaine, 38, director of a nursing home, introduces the ‘Humanitude’ method, but encounters resistance from the staff. She meets Mari Morisaki, 39, a terminally ill Japanese playwright, and the two women, each speaking the other’s language, become friends. Together, they share a common vision and become inseparable. Mari’s health deteriorates, and their relationship profoundly transforms the ‘Garden of Freedom’.

Believe film has the right credentials to be in competition at Cannes 2026 and if not, mainly due to French films quota, perhaps goes to a special screening; but doubt will end-up in Un Certain Regard or other parallel sections.

Film still



Kirill Serebrennikov- Russia and Germany
Après, France

The multifaceted director of stage dramas, opera, ballet, television and cinema was born in 1969 and gossip says a ballet forced him to leave his country. He left Russia in 2022 and now lives in Germany where in 2023 he founded his own theater company, Kirill and Friends based in Berlin.

He has been in Cannes several times since 2016 The Student in Un Certain Regard and from then on in competition for la Palme d'Or with 2018 Leto, 2021 Petrov's Flu, 2022 Tchaikovsky's Wife and 2024 Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie. Also has been in Venice with 2012 Betrayal and in Locarno with 2008 Yurev den where won the Youth Jury Award and more awards. Yurev den is the movie that introduced me to Serebrennikov and made me a follower of his cinema career.

There is little doubt that if Après is finished, submitted and accepted will go again to Cannes main competition, specially because has a great French cast, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Garrel, Vincent Macaigne, Fanny Ardant, Guillaume Gallienne and more. Then we have to consider that is his first all French-language film which sets all my alarms but, have to remember that is not his first non-Russian film so there are high hopes and expectations.

Filming took place in Latvia and according to Variety, Après is produced by France's Pathé Films, Monaco's Hype Studios and Germany's Kirill and Friends, co-produced by Latvia's Forma Pro Films, Belgium's Umedia, and Germany's Gold Rush Pictures in association with T-VFX and Blaclist MGMT, and with financial support of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.

No plot summary is available yet but expectations claim story has to have his signature style of blending high-stakes drama with provocative social comentary. No films still nor poster nor any other film material is available as of late March 2026.

Guillaume Canet - France
Karma, France

Have to be honest I'm really curious about this movie directed by Canet and starring Marion Cotillard mainly because of backdoor gossip as they ended their long-term personal relationship not long ago; but then who I'm kidding, I like almost everything with Marion Cotillard and truly miss her in great French productions that hope this could be one.

It's Canet's ninth film as a director and release date is October 2026 which means that film can go to Cannes if ready or most likely to Venice, specially when one of the production companies is Netflix France. Perhaps the most known film by Canet is fantastic 2005 Tell No One and the good news is that Karma is a psychological thriller genre just as Tell No One was.

Film synopsis
In a village in northern Spain, Jeanne tries to rebuild her life with Daniel, who knows nothing about her troubled past. One day, Jeanne's six-year-old godson mysteriously disappears and Jeanne becomes the main suspect.

Film still



Nicole Garcia - France
Milo, France

Yes this is the other Cannes possible Marion Cotillard film but in this case I'm very familiar with the director as have seen most of her latest films and well, also have seen her performances in several movies and TV series.

Nicole Garcia is very well-known in Cannes since 1986 when her short 15 août was in the shorts competition; after there are three films that were in competition for la Palme d'Or in Cannes, 2002 The Adversary, 2006 Selon Charlie and 2016 From the Land of the Moon. She also has been in competition for a Golden Lion at Venice with 1998 Place Vendôme and 2020 Lovers.

Since 2020 she has been very active acting and is now, six years later that she has another feature film with none other than Marion Cotillard, Milo is a strong drama co-written by her and Olivier Demangel, Jacques Fleschi, and Laurette Polmanss with the following synopsis: "Film follows Alice, a woman with a violent political activist past who, after prison, moves to a small town in southern France. Working as a waitress, she approaches a young garage worker named Milo, who is secretly her son."

If film is ready, submitted and accepted there are chances will go to main competition and if not a special screening could be the fest section for this movie.

Film is produced by France's Trésor Films and co-produced by France's StudioCanal, France 3 Cinéma, and Marcel Films, plus Belgium's Artémis Productions. StudioCanal kick off sales on 2026 Berlinale EFM holds the international sales rights and handles distribution in France.

Filming Photo


There are more films that call my attention and will continue in another post. This post will be published today, March 25, 2026.