Cannes Film Festival reveals 2026 lineup
The annual film festival, held in the south of France, will feature entries from big-name stars including Rami Malek, Javier Bardem and John Travolta.
PARIS/BERLIN — This year's Cannes Film Festival will pit stalwarts of arthouse cinema against a small pool of newer voices, as over 20 titles compete for the festival's prestigious main prize next month.
The annual film festival brings together the movie industry's biggest names in the sun-soaked south of France each May to strike deals, pledge their love for cinema and party on yachts.
For directors, winning the festival's Palme d'Or opens the door to bigger budgets, opportunities and seals their reputation as leading filmmakers.
Two previous Palme winners return to competition, with Japan's Hirokazu Kore‑eda exploring childhood and artificial intelligence in "Sheep in the Box," while Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord" stars Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, fresh off her success in Oscar winner "Sentimental Value."
Also back in the running are Pawel Pawlikowski with "Fatherland," a portrait of German novelist Thomas Mann, and Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes, whose new film focuses on French Resistance figure Jean Moulin.
Other competition veterans include Pedro Almodóvar, with tragicomedy "Bitter Christmas," as well as Iran's Asghar Farhadi, Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi and France's Arthur Harari.
Cannes Film Festival Director Thierry Frémaux, who announced the lineup Thursday, April 9, noted the absence of American studio films, citing weak box office revenues that have forced Hollywood to scale back production.
"In the U.S., it's a moment of transition," Frémaux told Reuters. "When you have such a transition, they don't have the projects to produce a lot of films, but I'm sure that it will come back, and we will be there waiting."
These A-listers are heading to Cannes 2026
Festival entries featuring big-name actors include U.S. director Ira Sachs' 1980s AIDS drama "The Man I Love," which stars "Bohemian Rhapsody" actor Rami Malek, while Javier Bardem leads "The Beloved" from Spain's Rodrigo Sorogoyen.
Outside the main competition, Danish "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn returns after a decade with "Her Private Hell," while American directors Steven Soderbergh and Ron Howard premiere documentaries on singer John Lennon and fashion photographer Richard Avedon, respectively.
John Travolta, whose superstardom as an actor began with "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" in the 1970s, makes his debut as a director with the out-of-competition "Propeller One‑Way Night Coach."
Five films in competition are directed by women, including first‑time contenders Léa Mysius ("The Birthday Party") and Jeanne Herry ("Another Day").
Korean director Park Chan-wook, who took the festival's best director award in 2022 for "Decision to Leave," will preside over the jury.
When is the 2026 Cannes Film Festival?
The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12-23.