The Cannes Film Festival returns for its 79th edition from May 12 to 23, once again turning the Croisette into the centre of the global film industry. This year’s lineup leans strongly toward auteur-driven cinema, bringing together returning Palme d’Or winners, festival regulars and some of the year’s most anticipated independent films. Here are the key things you need to know about the event this year
Which films are generating the most attention?
Among the Competition titles, Na Hong-jin’s Hope has quickly become one of the festival’s biggest talking points. Best known for The Wailing, the Korean filmmaker returns with a sci-fi thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Hoyeon and Taylor Russell.
Sheep in the Box by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, reportedly centred around artificial intelligence, also stands out as one of the lineup’s most intriguing projects. Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord is arriving with strong anticipation as well, starring Sebastian Stan alongside Sentimental Value actress Renate Reinsve.
Elsewhere, Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love has drawn attention as the only American film in Competition. Set during the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York, the film stars Rami Malek and has been described as a “musical fantasia” set in a city under pressure.
Outside Competition, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell, described as featuring extreme visuals of glitter, sex and violence, is already expected to become one of the festival’s most divisive premieres. Quentin Dupieux’s Full Phil also brings Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson to the Midnight Screenings section.
Notably, the Un Certain Regard lineup additionally includes one of the year’s most closely watched indie projects, Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, following the breakout success of I Saw the TV Glow.
Who is serving on the jury?
This year’s Competition jury will be led by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook as Jury President. Best known for The Vengeance Trilogy, including Oldboy, Park becomes one of the most high-profile Asian filmmakers to lead the Cannes jury in recent years. Joining him are stars and acclaimed filmmakers including Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Ruth Negga and Stellan Skarsgård, forming the international panel responsible for selecting this year’s Palme d’Or winner.
Who is receiving the honorary awards?
Previously announced ahead of the festival, Cannes 2026 will honour The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and Oscar-winning actress, filmmaker and singer Barbra Streisand with Honorary Palme d’Or awards. Jackson will receive the honour during the festival’s opening ceremony in recognition of his groundbreaking filmmaking career, while Streisand will be honoured during the closing ceremony for her influential six-decade contribution to film and music.
Full Cannes Film Festival 2026 lineup
In Competition
Minotaur – Andrey Zvyagintsev
The Beloved – Rodrigo Sorogoyen
The Man I Love – Ira Sachs
Fatherland – Pawel Pawlikowski
Moulin – Lazlo Nemes
Histoires de la Nuit – Lea Mysius
Fjiord – Cristian Mungiu
Notre Salut – Emmanuel Marre
Gentle Monster – Marie Kreutzer
Hope – Na Hong-Jin
Nagi Notes – Kôji Fukada
Sheep in the Box Hirokazu Kore-eda
Garance – Jeanne Herry
The Unknown – Arthur Harari
Sudden – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
The Dreamed Adventure – Valeska Grisebach
Coward – Lukas Dhont
La Bola Negra – Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
Parallel Stories – Asghar Farhadi
Bitter Christmas – Pedro Almodóvar
A Woman’s Life – Charline Bourgeois-Taquet
Un Certain Regard
All the Lovers in the Night – Yukiko Sode
La más dulce – Laïla Marrakchi
Club Kid – Jordan Firstman
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – Jane Schoenbrun
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep – Rakan Mayasi
Everytime – Sandra Wollner
Meltdown – Manuela Martelli
I’ll Be Gone in June – Katharina Rivilis
I Am Always Your Maternal Animal – Valentina Maurel
Congo Boy – Rafiki Fariala
Iron Boy – Louis Clichy
Benimana – Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo
Elephants in the Fog – Abinash Bikram Shah
Uļa – Viesturs Kairišs
Words of Love – Rudi Rosenberg
Out of Competition
Her Private Hell – Nicolas Winding Refn
Diamond – Andy Garcia
The Electric Kiss – Pierre Salvadori
La Bataille de Gaulle : L’age de fer – Antonin Baudry
Karma – Guillaume Canet
L’Objet Du Delit – Agnes Jaoui
L’abandon – Vincent Garenq
Cannes Premiere
Propeller One-Way – John Travolta
The Samurai and the Prisoner – Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Heimsuchung – Volker Schlondorff
El partido – Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco
When the Night Falls – Daniel Auteuil
Special Screenings
John Lennon: The Last Interview – Steven Soderbergh
Avedon – Ron Howard
Les Survivants du Che – Christophe Réveille
Les Matins Merveilleux – Avril Besson
Rehearsals for a Revolution – Pegah Ahangarani
L’affaire Marie-Claire – Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller
Cantona – David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas
Tangles – Leah Nelson
Midnight Screenings
Roma Elastica – Bertrand MandicoJim Queen, Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen
Full Phil – Quentin Dupieux
Colony – Yeon Sang-ho
Sanguine – Marion Le Coroller
Also see: 5 things to know about Jaafar Jackson, the star of the “Michael” biopic
