Cannes 2026 Lineup Showcases a Wealth of International Auteur Filmmakers | Vanity Fair
The Cannes Film Festival is not only one of the most glamorous and star-studded film festivals of the year, but it’s grown into a strong launching pad for Oscar contenders. Just two years ago, best-picture winner Anora made its world premiere at the festival, and last year’s lineup included Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and Sirāt, all of which earned multiple Oscar nominations.
So it’s no surprise there’s been anticipation around the 2026 Cannes competition lineup, which has delivered with a plethora of international auteurs and notable Cannes regulars and past winners.
Competing for the Palme d’Or this year will be Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the Palme d’Or in 2018 with Shoplifters and returns with Sheep in the Box, which follows a couple who adopt an infant humanoid robot. Cristian Mungiu, who won the Palme in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, will also be back this year with Fjord, a drama about a couple (Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) who move to a remote Norwegian town.
Pawel Pawlikowski, who won the directing prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for Cold War, will be in competition with Fatherland, which includes Sandra Hüller among its cast. Asghar Farhadi, whose films The Salesman and A Hero both won awards in Cannes, will debut Parallel Tales, starring Isabelle Huppert. Pedro Almodóvar will return to the festival with his newest Spanish-language film, Bitter Christmas. Ira Sachs is also back this year with The Man I Love, which stars Rami Malek and Tom Sturridge.
Nicolas Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film since The Neon Demon in 2016, is making his return with Her Private Hell, starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton. The thriller will screen out of competition. In the documentary space, the festival will present Ron Howard’s Avedon, about the photographer Richard Avedon, and Steven Soderbergh’s John Lennon: The Last Interview.
The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, which will take place May 12–23 in the South of France, will feature Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook as jury president. Below, take a look at the lineups, but be prepared for more films to be announced in the coming weeks:
Competition
Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), Pedro Almodóvar
Parallel Tales, Asghar Farhadi
A Woman’s Life, Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
La Bola Negra, Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
Coward, Lukas Dhont
Das Geträumte Abenteuer, Valeska Grisebach
All of Sudden, Hamaguchi Ryusuke
The Unknown, Arthur Harari
Another Day, Jeanne Herry
Sheep in the Box, Kore-Eda Hirokazu
Hope, Na Hong-Jin
Nagi Notes, Fukada Koji
Gentle Monster, Marie Kreutzer
Notre Salut, Emmanuel Marre
Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
The Birthday Party, Léa Mysius
Moulin, László Nemes
Fatherland, Pawel Pawlikowski
The Man I Love, Ira Sachs
El Ser Querido (The Beloved), Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Un Certain Regard
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun
Elephants in the Fog, Abinash Bikram Shah
Iron Boy, Louis Clichy
Ben’imana, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Congo Boy, Rafiki Fariala
Club Kid, Jordan Firstman
Uļa, Viesturs Kairišs
La Más Dulce (Strawberries), Laïla Marrakchi
El Deshielo (The Meltdown), Manuela Martelli
Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno (Forever Your Maternal Animal), Valentina Maurel
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep, Rakan Mayasi
I’ll Be Gone in June, Katharina Rivilis
Words of Love, Rudi Rosenberg
Everytime, Sandra Wollner
All the Lovers in the Night, Sode Yukiko
Out of Competition
La Bataille de Gaulle: L’âge de Fer, Antonin Baudry
Karma, Guillaume Canet
Diamond, Andy Garcia
L’abandon, Vincent Garenq
L’objet Du Délit, Agnès Jaoui
Her Private Hell, Nicolas Winding Refn
Midnight Screenings
Full Phil, Quentin Dupieux
Sanguine, Marion Le Corroller
Roma Elastica, Bertrand Mandico
Jim Queen, Marco Nguyen & Nicolas Athané
Gun-Che (Colony), Yeon Sang-Ho
Cannes Premiere
La Troisième Nuit, Daniel Auteuil
The Match, Juan Cabral & Santiago Franco
Kokurojo (The Samurai and the Prisoner), Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Heimsuchung (Visitation), Volker Schlöndorff
Propeller One-Way Night Coach, John Travolta
Special Screenings
Rehearsals for a Revolution, Pegah Ahangarani
Les Matins Merveilleux, Avril Besson
L’affaire Marie-Claire, Lauriane Escaffre & Yvo Muller
Avedon, Ron Howard
Les Survivants du Che, Christophe Dimitri Réveille
John Lennon: The Last Interview, Steven Soderbergh
Cantona, David Tryhorn & Ben Nicholasa
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