It’s that time of year again – the weather is warming up, the flowers are blooming, and the attention of the global cinema community is turning once again to the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival.

Cannes is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, drawing thousands of visitors each year to the beautiful Mediterranean coast. Festival programmers have carefully curated the lineup from about 2,500 submissions to just 22 films screening in competition. Plus, several films will be featured in special screenings, alternate competitions, and out of competition.

This year’s lineup has an emphasis on auteur filmmakers from around the world, many of whom have earned acclaim at Cannes in prior years. There’s plenty to explore at this year’s festival, so let’s dive in!

Sit back, soak up the sun, and enjoy a spritz while we tell you everything you need to know to be ready for Cannes 2026!

Guests of Honor

Two iconic artists will be awarded the Honorary Palme d’or at the 79th Festival de Cannes.

Peter Jackson will be recognized for his contributions to cinema. Over the course of his career, Jackson has blended technical mastery with bold artistic vision to bring us some of the most celebrated films of all time.

In 2001, Jackson unveiled the first look at The Fellowship of the Ring in a special press screening at Cannes. The reaction took the world by storm, heralding what would become a global phenomenon when Jackson’s sweeping adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings took the world by storm. Now, he returns to Cannes to receive his honorary Palme d’or as one of the most successful filmmakers in history.

Barbra Streisand will also receive an Honorary Palme d’or for her decades-spanning career, dominating the worlds of film, theater, and music. Her exceptional skills as an actress and singer have earned her EGOT status – having won Emmy®, GRAMMY®, Oscar®, and Tony® Awards.

Congratulations to Jackson and Streisand!

Juries

This year, world-renowned South Korean director, screenwriter, and producer Park Chan-wook will preside over the Jury for Feature Films in Competition. Park Chan-wook earned global recognition when his film Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004. Since then, his films have continuously delighted (and horrified) Cannes audiences, with notable titles including Thirst, The Handmaiden, and, most recently, No Other Choice.

Joining him on the main competition jury are actors Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, and Isaach De Bankolé; Oscar®-winning writer/director Chloé Zhao; Chilean writer-director Diego Céspedes; Belgian writer-director Laura Wandel; and screenwriter Paul Laverty. This jury will award the coveted Palme d’or to a film from the Main Competition.

Another jury, led by French actress Leïla Bekhti, will judge films in the Un Certain Regard competition, designed for films featuring unconventional and experimental styles.

The Films

It is tradition at the Festival de Cannes to open with a French title. This year, the festival will open with Pierre Salvadori’s film The Electric Kiss. The film is described as a period romantic comedy-drama about a grieving painter who tries to contact his departed wife through a psychic medium. It sounds daring, artistic, and undeniably French in character.

In the Main Competition, there are several titles that caught our eye. One such film is the highly-anticipated entry from director James Gray, titled Paper Tiger. The film, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, revolves around a pair of brothers who get tangled up in a dangerous Russian mafia scheme. The film has already been picked up by Neon for distribution.

Fjord is another film likely to draw significant attention in the Main Competition. The film, which comes from 2007 Palme d’or-winning director Cristian Mungiu, is an international co-production between Romania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and France. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a Romanian-Norwegian couple whose lives are thrown into chaos after moving to the wife’s remote Norwegian hometown.

Austrian director Marie Kreutzer is bringing Gentle Monster to Cannes, in which Léa Seydoux stars as a successful pianist who follows her husband to live in the countryside after he experiences burnout. Kreutzer is known for intense, character-driven films that explore the lives of women and the societal expectations placed on them.

Two-time Oscar®-nominated Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev returns to the Main Competition with his film Minotaur, described as a political thriller set in Russia in 2022. The film follows a privileged Russian oligarch in the midst of colliding business and personal catastrophes. Fans can look forward to an intense drama with chilling political undertones.

Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will screen in the Un Certain Regard competition, where Schoenbrun’s otherworldly style is sure to thrive. The film follows a horror director tasked with rebooting a famous slasher franchise who descends into obsession as she seeks to cast the film’s “final girl.” If the teaser (and the title) is any indication, this film is certain to deliver over-the-top gore, retro nostalgia, and raunchy madness.

Steven Soderbergh will be sharing his new documentary, John Lennon: The Last Interview, in a special screening during the festival. The documentary focuses on John Lennon as he was just hours before his assassination, when he was interviewed by Dave Sholin and Laurie Kay.

Hollywood actor John Travolta will be premiering his directorial debut at Cannes with Propeller One-Way Night Coach. Interestingly, the film is based on a 1997 children’s book that Travolta himself authored. Travolta is a lifelong aviation enthusiast, and the film is expected to be a love letter to the passion for flying.

Also screening in the Cannes Premiere section is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s epic historical film Kokurojo (or The Samurai and the Prisoner). Kurosawa is known for his chilling psychological horror films, but this marks his first entrance into the historical genre. It is described as a “feudal mystery” taking place in Japan’s Warring States period – an era marked by social upheaval and war. It stars Japanese actor Munetaka Aoki, who American audiences will recognize from Godzilla: Minus One, which set the all-time box office record for a foreign-language film in the United States. Sign us up!

Au revoir!

Cannes 2026 is sure to be another memorable festival on La Croisette. There are sure to be many more incredible films that screen that we couldn’t fit into this blog, so we encourage you to further explore this year’s lineup!

Go and enjoy the festival and send us a postcard from Cannes! Have a baguette! Try the bouillabaisse! Have dinner at Restaurant Le Maschou! Meet a celebrity! The CreativeFuture team will be here when you get back.