79th Cannes Film Festival Lineup

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.

Seems this section will bring to Cannes limelight to many A-listers and high-profile thespians like Guillermo del Toro, Jerzy Skolimowski, Cate Blanchett, Gong Li, Jia Zhang-ke, Zhao Tao, Darren Aronofsky, Bruce Dern, Laura Dern, Dario Argento, Matthias Schoenaerts, and more. Industry press is talking about a midnight screening of the restored first Fast and Furious with the presence of Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez; film is not in list in official site, so it's a bit confusing. Hope clarification comes fast, as in official siter there are 21 restored films listed and should be 22.

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Update May 5. The International Jury of the 2026 Festival de Cannes has been announced and believe it or not, yesterday's news with highest buzz was about a juror that didn't make it to the final selection as was not able to accept due to a foot injury! Many will definitively miss Jacob Elordi as could have bring a new audience demo to the festival. Sigh.

My initial spontaneous reaction to the jury was to be strange to use a kind word as couldn't imagine Demi and Stellan talking about cinema (lol); but today I see it is well configurated with directors, actors and actresses and screenwriters. A good mix also when you see it from their work world as there are jurors from Europe, Asia, America and Africa.

There is quite a lot still missing and opening day is just around the corner, still pending to announce Cannes Classics, Cinéma de la plage, Caméra d'Or jury, movies info up at official site plus screening schedule.

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Update April 29. Great news as we will be able to enjoy two Cannes favorites, Cate and Tilda! Rendevouz at the Festival de Cannes with three master classes:
Wednesday May 13 Peter Jackson
Sunday May 17 Cate Blanchett
Thursday May 21 Tilda Swinton

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Update April 23. Yesterday fest organizers released the additions to the selection with sixteen (16) new films in various sections, including one in the main Competition, the much talk about film when guessing if it was going to make it to the Official Selection and if so, where. Paper Tiger by James Gray and starring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Milles Tiller has joined the 2026 Cannes competition.

But also this list update is telling us that Bucking Fastard is out of Cannes, unless there is a later addition to this addition; but doubt it as this press release claims the 2026 Official Selection is complete.

Not much news about what seems a new section, Family Screenings, created to showcase international storytelling that is accessible to younger viewers and their families, often highlighting animated works alongside more traditional auteur-driven selections.

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Update April 10. Yesterday there was chaos with the list some media outlets published before the official selection became available via festival site. Today chaos continues with Bucking Fastard by Werner Herzog that seems was a typo in published data or in less than 24 hours got included in the Premiere section. Up to this moment there is no new movie at site but press material grid for Premiere includes the film; decided to wait until film appears somewhere in the site to include below the film with the Mara sisters playing sisters.

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April 9. 2026

Not sure if it was only me but got so confused with the press conference that even changed the language to see if it was me not understanding French (lol); unfortunately it was the same in English.

Anyway have read most articles in industry reliable press but will wait for official announcement at their site as wish to confirm that my spontaneous impression is right as seems there are films missing in each sections and if right, surely will be announced later.

Nevertheless, the Competition seems to be complete as-of-today has twenty-one (21) films.  Still one film could be added as maximum allowed is 22.  Industry press is claiming that contractual issues are making Paper Tiger by James Gray to not be in festival but festival organizers hope to add film, no festival section is mentioned. After all lets recall Fremaux said that 95% of the selection was announced today

Most of the films in competition are expected but my biggest surprise is to have three films from Spain: Alomodovar, Sorogoyen and los Javis! Haven't seen a single film from los Javis but watched the most visually intriguing and incredibly well edited Almodovar interview with los Javis directing and hosting the interview, so expectation has been risen. By-the-way, is the first time ever that Spain has three films in competition.

Every single year I hope the official selection and specially the competition is not a window for American movies and instead become a window to great world cinema. This year is a reality as eschews USA in favor of the best cinema of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Great!

The Poster

It was on April 21st when the official poster was released and is a good one with a good reason to be especially in a festival with very little USA presence as one of the most iconic American movie is highlighted, Thelma and Louise by Ridley Scott starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, a film premiered in Cannes on May 20, 1991.

The festival chose this black-and-white still from the set of a colorful and controversial film that celebrates life and the timeless struggles for the freedom to be oneself. These two unforgettable fighters turned the tables and shattered a few gender stereotypes, both societal and cinematic; they embodied absolute freedom and unwavering friendship; they showed the way to emancipation when it becomes vital.

Ridley Scott chose to overturn the conventions of the road movie, a male film genre, to shoot a female version, telling the story of a breathless epic that turns into a one-way-escape - reclaiming ownership of their bodies and desires came at a heavy price for the two heroines.

Thirty-five years ago, the two protagonists of cinema's first female and feminist road movie chose to take the plunge, carried by a wind of liberation bloweing at their backs. They became immortal icons. Today, they confront us, and observe their own legacy.

The credits of the poster are photo by Roland Neveu on the film set and graphic design by Hartland Villa.

The Selection

According to Fremaux a total of 2,541 feature films were submitted from 141 countries which he says reflect a kind of quantitative vitality. He also mentioned that there is a high number of female directors in competition but read somewhere that not in the Official Selection as the percentage is down, will do follow up about this subject and modify this paragraph accordingly.

There is no surprise to find the large amount of films in French as not only French directors have films in the official selection but also many non-French directors have films not-in-their-native language but in French. Most notable are Léa Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve as each has two films in the competition,; but there are other names that will light the red carpet like Renate Reinsve, Marion Cotillard, Sebastian Stan, Isabelle Huppert, Sandra Hüller, Virginie Efira, Javier Bardem, Andy Garcia, Rami Malek, Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Cécile de France, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Kristen Stewart, Leïla Bekhti, Pierre Niney, Vincent Cassel, Gilles Lellouche, Penelope Cruz, Cara Delevingne, Mélanie Thierry, Léa Drucker, and many more.

Just a reminder, Barbra Streisand and Peter Jackson will be receive an honorary Palme d'Or in recognition of their life's work.

The Official Selection

Competition
As of April 23, there are 22 films in competition.

Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Coward, Lukas Dhont, Belgium, France and Netherlands
Das geträumte abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure), Valeska Grisebach, Germany, France, Bulgaria and Austria
El Ser Querido (The Beloved), Rodrigo Sororgoyen, Spain and France
Fatherland, Pawel Palikowski, Italy, Poland, Germany and France
Fjord, Cristian Mungiu, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France and Romania
Garance (Another Day), Jeanne Herry, France
Gentle Monster, Marie Kreutzer, Austria, Germany and France
箱の中の羊 Hako no Naka no Hitsuji ( Sheep in The Box), Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan
Histoires de la Nuit (The Birthday Party), Léa Mysius, France
Histoires parallèles (Parallel Tales), Asghar Farhadi, France, Belgium, USA, and Italy
호프 Hope, Na Hong-jin, South Korea
La Bola Negra (The Black Ball), Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (los Javi), Spain and France
La vie d'une femme (A Woman's Life), Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, France and Belgium
L'Inconnue (The Unknown), Arthur Harari, France
Minotaur, Andrei Zvyagintsev, France, Germany and Latvia
Moulin, László Nemes, France
ナギダイアリー Nagi Notes, Koji Fukada, Japan
Notre Salut (A Man of His Time), Emmanuel Marre, Belgium and France
Paper Tiger, James Gray, USA
Soudain (All of the Sudden), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Japan, France, Belgium and Germany
The Man I Love, Ira Sachs, USA

International Jury
President: Park Chan-Wook, director, screenwriter and producer, South Korea
Chloé Zhao, director, screenwriter, editor and producer, China
Laura Wanderl, director and screenwriter, Belgium
Diego Céspedes, director and screenwriter, Chile
Stellan Skarsgård, actor, Sweden
Ruth Negga, actress and producer, Ireland and Ethiopia
Demi Moore, actress and producer, USA
Isaach de Bankolé, actor, Ivory Coas and USA
Paul Laverty, Screenwriter, Scotland

Check available Competition posters at pinterest here.

Out of Competition

Opening Film: La Vénus électrique (The Electric Kiss), Pierre Salvadori, France and Belgium
Diamond, Andy Garcia, USA
Her Private Hell, Nicolas Winding Refn, USA and Denmark
Karma, Guillaume Canet, France
L'Abandon (Forsaken), Vincent Garenq, France
La Bataille De Gaulle: L'âge de fer (De Gaulle: Tiltin Iron - Part 1), Antonin Baudry, France
L’Objet du délit (Crescendo), Agnès Jaoui, France

Check available Out of Competition posters at pinterest here.
Check available Competition and Out of Competition trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Cannes Premiere
A section introduced to highlight new works by established filmmakers who have previously been in competition.

Aquí, Tiago Guedes, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal
El Partido (The Match), Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco, Argentina (documentary)
Heimsuchung (Visitation), Volker Schlöndorff, Germany
黒牢城 Kokurojo (The Samurai and the Prisoner), Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan
La troisième nuit (When The Night Falls), Daniel Auteuil, France
Mariage au goût d'orange (Orange-Flavored Wedding), Christophe Honoré, France
Marie Madeleine (Mary Magdalene), Gessica Généus, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France
Propeller One-Way Night Coach, John Travolta, USA
Si tu penses bien (Think Good), Géraldine Nakache, France and Belgium
The End of It, Maria Martinez Bayona, UK, Norway and Spain (1st Film)

Check available Premiere posters at pinterest here.
Check available Premiere trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Special Screenings
Features documentaries and unique projects.

Avedon, Ron Howard, USA (documentary)
Cantona, David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, UK (documentary)
Ceniza en la Boca (Ashes), Diego Luna, Spain and Mexico
Groundswell, Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Tickell, USA (documentary)
John Lennon: The Last Interview, Steven Soderbergh, USA (documentary) 
L'Affaire Marie-Claire (Women on Trial), Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller, France
Le Triangle d'or, Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz, France (1st Film)
Les Survivants du Che (Che Guevarra: The Last Companions), Christophe Dimitri Réveille, France (documentary - 1st Film)
Les Matins Merveilleux, Avril Besson, France (1st Film)
تمرین‌هایی برای یک انقلاب Rehearsals for a Revolution, Pegah Ahangarani, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic and Iran (documentary) (1st Film)
Tangles, Leah Nelson, USA (animation) (1st Film)
Vesna (Spring), Rostislav Kirpičenko, France, Ukraine, and Lithuania (1st Film)

Midnight Screenings
Traditionally reserved for genre-leaning, high-energy titles.

Full Phil, Quentin Dupieux, France and USA
군체 Gunche (Colony), Yeon Sang-ho, South Korea
Jim Queen, Nicolas Athané and Marco Ngyuen, France (animation, 1st film)
Roma Elastica, Bertrand Mandico, Italy and France
Sanguine (Species), Marion Le Corroller, France and Belgium

Check available Midnight posters at pinterest here.
Check available Midnight trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Family Screening
Showcases international films accessible to younger viewers and their families, often highlighting animated works

Lucy Lost, Olivert Clert, France (animation) (1st Film)

Un Certain Regard
Dedicated to original works and emerging talent from around the world. Up to April 23 there are 19 Films in this section.

Opening Film: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun, USA
Closing Film: Ulysse, Laetitia Masson, France

Ben'Imana (Children of God), Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal (1st Film)
Club Kid, Jordan Firstman, USA (1st Film) 
Congo Boy, Rafiki Fariala, Central African Republic, Congo and France 
El Deshielo (The Meltdown), Manuela Martelli, Chile, USA, Spain and Mexico
Everytime, Sandra Wollner, Austria and Germany
I’ll Be Gone in June, Katharina Rivilis, Germany and Switzerland (1st Film)
La Más Dulce (Strawberries), Laïla Marrakchi, France, Spain, Morocco and Belgium
Le Corset (Iron Boy), Louis Clichy, France and Belgium (animation)  
Mémoire de fille (A Girl's Story), Judith Godrèche, France
Quelques mots d'amour (Words of Love), Rudi Rosenberg, France
Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno (Forever Your Maternal Animal), Valentina Maurel, France and Costa Rica
すべて真夜中の恋人たち Subete Mayonaka no Koibito-tachi (All The Lovers In The Night), Yukiko Sode, Japan
तिनीहरू Tinihāru (Elepahants in the Fog), Abinash Bikram Shah, Germany, France, Brazil, and Nepal (1st Film)
Titanic Ocean, Konstantina Kotzamani, Greece, Germany, Romania, Spain, Japan, and France (1st Film)
Uļa (Ulya), Viesturs Kairišs, Latvia, Poland, Letonia, and Estonia
Victorian Psycho, Zachary Wigon, USA
بالأمس لم تنم العين Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep, Rakan Mayasi, Lebanon, Palestine and Belgium 

Un Certain Regard Jury
President: Leïla Bekhti, actress, France
Angèle Diabang Brener, producer and director, Senegal
Laura Samani, director and screenwriter, Italy
Thomas Cailley, director, France
Khaled Mouzanar, composer, Lebanon

Check available Un Certain Regard posters at pinterest here.
Check available Un Certain Regard trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Camera d'Or
Created in 1978 by Gilles Jacob, who was then the General Delegate. Is organized by the Association Française du Festival International du Film with the collaboration of the National Federation of Cinema and Audiovisual Industries and the French Association of Film Critics.

It is awarded to the best first feature film presented in the Official Selection (Competition, Out of Competition and Un Certain Regard), in the Semaine de la Critique or in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs). It is designed to encourage young creation and it's a catalyst for the career of filmmakers as it offers a unique, international showcase. In accordance with the tradition, the jury consists of French representatives of the industry and two guest along with the President which this year is Monia Chokri.

Camera d'Or Jury
President: Monia Chokri, actress, director and screenwriter, Canada
Michel Benjamin, cinematographer, France
Cédric Coppola, film critic, France
Marine Francen, director and screenwriter, France
Christophe Massie, Deputy CEO of Eclair by Netgem, France

L’Œil d'Or

The documentary prize created by the Cannes Film Festival and La Scam, in partnership with INA. Since 2015, this award has honored a film presented in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival: Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Special Screenings, and Cannes Classics. Documentaries from the Directors’ Fortnight, Critics’ Week, and ACID are also invited to participate. The award will be given on Friday, May 22nd at 12:00pm at the Palais des Festivals.

The Jury
President: Mstyslav Chernov, director, Ukraine
Tabitha Jackson, New York Film Forum director, USA
Géraldine Pailhas, actress, France
Lina Soualem, actress and director, France, Algeria, and Palestine
Victor Castanet, journalist, France

Short Films
Selected from 3,184 films, 10 short films will be presented this year in Competition coming from productions and co-productions across 136 countries.

Competition
Algumas coisas que acontecem ao lado de um rio (A Few Things Happening by a River), Daniel Soares, France and Portugal 20'
Dernier Printemps (The Last Spring), Mathilde Bédouet, France 15' (animation)
Giấc mơ là ốc sên (The Dream is a Snail), Thien An Nguyen, Vietnam 15'
Le bain des sirènes (Sisters' Swim), Lola Degove, Belgium and France 15' (animation)
Niko ništa nije rekao (Nobody Said Anything), Tamara Todorović, France, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia 15'
Nouvel Hair (Fresh Cut), Hadrien Bels, France 15'
Para Los Contrincantes (For The Opponents), Federico Luis, Mexico, Chile, France and Argentina 15'
Pelotón Trueno (Thunder Platoon), Theo Montoya, Colombia 15'
Spiritus Sanctus, Michal Toczek, Poland 15'
The End, Niki Lindroth Von Bahr, Sweden, France and Denmark 15' (animation)

CINEF Selection
For its 29th edition La Cinef has selected 14 live-action and 5 animated shorts from among the 2,750 sent by film schools all over the world. Directed by 12 women and 9 men, they represent fifteen countries and four continents. Two of the schools are invited for the first time: Hongik University (South Korea) and ISAMM (Tunisia).

Aldrig Nok (Never Enough), Julius Lagoutte Larsen, France, La Fémis 25'
Always Wanted to be God, Never Wanted to be Good, Noa Epars and Marvin Merkel, Switzerland, HEAD 21'  
Bird Rhapsody, Wonjung Choi, South Korea, Hongik University 6' (animation)
Growing Stones, Flying Papers, Roozbeh Gezerseh and Soraya Shamsi, Germany, Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf 12' (animation)
Laser-gato (Laser-Cat), Lucas Archer, USA, NYU 22'
Left Behind, Still Standing, Vida Skerk, UK, NFTS 22'
Onde Nascem os pirilampos (Where Fireflies Sparkle), Clara Vieira, Portugal ESTC 18'
ਪਰਛਾਵੇਂ ਮੱਸਿਆ ਰਾਤਾਂ ਦੇ Parchave Masseah Rataan De (Shadows of the Moonless Nights), Mehar Malhotra, India FTII 24"
Photograph of an Insane Woman to Show the Condition of Her Hair, Arwen Aznag, Belgium, LUCA School of Arts Brussels 6' (animation)
Pickled, Fanny Capu, UK, NFTS 9' (animation)
Preko Praga (Over the Threshold), Tara Gajović, Serbia, FDU 15'
Silent Voices, Nadine Misong Jin, USA, Columbia University 17'
إرث Somewhere I Belong, Youssef Handouse, Tunisia, ISAMM 21'
Sunday's Children, Reuben Hamlyn, USA, NYU 10'
Tian tian de mi mi (Our Secrets), Lenti Liang, USA, USC Cinematic Arts 15'
TJ28 (28 Days Left), Yasmin Najjar, Finland, Aalto University 24'
Trakcje (Axles), Jakub Krzyszpin, Poland, The Polish National Film School in Łódź 7' (animation)
Tú, Yo y la Vaca (Me, You and the Cow), Aina Callejón, Spain, ESCAC 20'
Will It Rain Again Today, Wong Chau-Hong, Japan, Nihon University College of Art 15'

Short Films and CINEF Jury
President: Carla Simón, director and screenwriter, Spain
Park Ji-Min, actress and visual artist, France
Ali Asgari, director, screenwriter and producer, Iran
Salim Kechiouche, actor and director, France
Magnus von Hor, director and screenwriter, Sweden

Check available Shorts and Cinef posters at pinterest here.
Check available Shorts and Cinef trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Immersive Competition
Nine groundbreaking works from eight countries are in the running for Best Immersive Work. The Festival’s third Immersive Competition will take place from May 12 to 22 at the Carlton Hotel. This year, the Immersive Competition will feature a new technical setup enabling collective experiences for up to 200 participants.

Gawd V.The People, Yamil Rodriguez, Ivan Alejandro Diaz Cardenas, and Stephen Henderson, UK
Katábasis, Ugo Arsac, France
Lúcido, Vier, Portugal
Playing with Fire, Pierre-Alain Giraud, UK, France and Taiwan
Red Planet 3009, Mariano Leotta and Francesco Fiore, Italy
The Black Mirror Experience, David Bardos and Damià Ferràndiz, Spain
The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters, Eloise Singer, UK
Voooooo---Peeeeee---, Hyeunjoo Woo and Jiyun Park, South Korea
Yellowfin, E del Mundo, Philippines

Check available Immersive posters at pinterest here.
Check available Immersive trailers, info, images and data at MOC here.

Cannes Classics
The 2026 Cannes Classics selection is once again composed of celebrations, restored prints, and documentaries. It will present 22 restored feature films, 3 short films, and 6 documentaries. It will also include two contemporary works.

Two New Films
L'Âge d'Or (The Golden Age), Bérenger Thouin, Italy and France (1st Film)
Une Vie Manifeste (A Life, A Manifesto), Jean-Gabriel Périot, France (documentary)

Three Short Films in Special Screening
Goodnight Lamby, Dustin Yellin, USA 15'
Torino Shadow, Jia Zhang-Ke, Italy and China 32'
Zamine Bazi (Playground), Amirhossein Shojaei, Iran and France 15'

Documentaries
Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern, Mike Mendez, USA
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean, Barnaby Thompson, UK and USA
Mon Coluche a Moi (My Coluche), Michel Denisot, Camille Bruere and Jueli Lazare, France
Nostalgia For The Future, Brecht Debackere, Belgium
The Story of Documentary Film (The 1970s), Mark Cousins, UK
Vittorio De Sica - La Vita in Scena (Vittorio De Sica - Staging Life), Francesco Zippei, Italy

To read about each of the above films and check the list of restored films go official site here.

Worth mentioning that the screening of restored Bawang Bieji (Farewell My Concubine) by Chen Kaige will have the presence of none other than Gong Li! The screening of Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean will have the presence of producer Cate Blanchett. Last, there is a now 4K restored film that shocked me when I first saw it a long time ago, The Devils by Ken Russell, hope to re-watch to eliminate all the memories from my head (lol!).

Cinéma de la Plage
In total, 11 films including Top Gun for it's 40th anniversary, two Palm d'Or winners, a film part of a tribute to Brigitte Bardot organized by the City of Cannes on Place Macé which will become Plage Brigitte Bardot. Also the surprise world premiere of Les Caprices de L’Enfant Roi (Molière, Cyrano and the Young King) by Michel Leclerc. To check all films go official site here.

The Press Conference Video



Immersive Competition Video