The Cannes Film Festival announced the first selections for its 2026 program this year, a diverse array of films from international masters from around the world, blended in with new, unexpected voices. After a 2025 program of high profile Hollywood premieres like the last “Mission: Impossible” movie and Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” this year looks a bit more subdued on the red carpet front, but undeniably includes some of the best working filmmakers from around the world, including Pedro Almodovar, Asghar Farhadi, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cristian Mungiu, Pawel Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs, and Andrey Zvyagintsev, all in competition.
Interestingly, the newest films from Jane Schoenbrun and Nicolas Winding Refn will both launch in programs ineligible for the Palme d’Or while the latest from James Gray, widely rumored for Cannes, is nowhere to be found. (It’s worth noting that films from Lee, Bi Gan, and Lynne Ramsay, among others, were all added after the initial program reveal last year.) Of course, the best thing about Cannes is the unknown. There’s almost certainly a masterpiece or two in here. Come back in May to find out which one(s).
In Competition
“All of a Sudden,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi
“Another Day,” Jeanne Herry
“The Beloved,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
“Bitter Christmas,” Pedro Almodóvar
“The Black Ball,” Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo
“Coward,” Lukas Dhont
“The Dreamed Adventure,” Valeska Grisebach
“Fatherland,” Pawel Pawlikowski
“Fjord,” Cristian Mungiu
“Gentle Monster,” Marie Kreutzer
“Hope,” Na Hong-jin
“The Man I Love,” Ira Sachs
“Minotaur,” Andrey Zvyagintsev
“Moulin,” László Nemes
“Nagi Diary,” Koji Fukada
“Notre Salut,” Emmanuel Marre
“Parallel Tales,” Asghar Farhadi
“Sheep in the Box,” Hirokazu Kore-eda
“Stories of the Night,” Léa Mysius
“The Unknown,” Arthur Harrari
“A Woman’s Life,” Christine Bourgeois-Taquet
Un Certain Regard
“All the Lovers in the Night,” Yukiko Sode
“Benimana,” Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo
“Club Kid,” Jordan Firstman
“Congo Boy,” Rafiki Fariala
“Le Corset,” Louis Clichy
“Elephants in the Fog,” Abinash Bikram Shah
“Everytime,” Sandra Wollner
“I Am Always Your Maternal Animal,” Valentina Maurel
“I’ll Be Gone in June,” Katharina Rivilis
“The Meltdown,” Manuela Martelli
“Strawberries,” Laïla Marrakchi
“Teenage Death and Sex at Camp Miasma,” Jane Schoenbrun (Opening Film)
“Uļa,” Viesturs Kairišs
“Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep,” Rakan Mayasi
Out of Competition
“L’Abandon,” Vincent Garenq
“De Gaulle: Tilting Iron,” Antonin Baudry
“Diamond,” Andy Garcia
“The Electric Kiss (Opening Night Film),” Pierre Salvadori
“Her Private Hell,” Nicolas Winding Refn
“Karma,” Guillaume Canet
“L’Objet Du Delit,” Agnes Jaoui
Cannes Premiere
“Heimsuchung,” Volker Schlöndorff
“Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” John Travolta
“The Third Night,” Daniel Auteuil
Special Screenings
“Avedon,” Ron Howard
“Cantona,” David Treehorn
“John Lennon: The Last Interview,” Steven Soderbergh
“Les Matins Merveilleux,” Avril Besson
“Les Survivants du Che,” Christophe Réveille
“Rehearsal for a Revolution,” Biga al Ahani
“The Survivors of Che,” Christophe Réveille
Midnight Screenings
“Colony,” Yeon Sang-ho
“Full Phil,” Quentin Dupieux
“Jim Queen,” Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen
“Roma Elastica,” Bertrand Mandico
“Sanguine,” Marion Le Corroller
