I've always wanted to go to the Cannes Film Festival and walk the red carpet. I won't be there this year, but the red carpet returns to the Côte d’Azur from May 12 through May 23.

If history is any indication, the stakes are sky-high, as they are every year.

The industry is already scouring the competition lineup for the next Oscar heavyweight, and filmmakers are showing off their passion projects.

Opening Night & Honors

The 2026 festivities will open with Pierre Salvadori’s French-language feature, The Electric Kiss, for a little homegrown honors.

The year also marks a major milestone for two industry titans; the festival will bestow Honorary Palme d’Ors upon:

  • Peter Jackson: The visionary director behind Middle-earth and Meet The Feebles.
  • Barbra Streisand: The legendary actor, filmmaker, and EGOT winner.

A Star-Studded Curveball

While the rumor mill is always spinning, the selection committee threw a genuine curveball this year: John Travolta will make his feature directorial debut, playing out of competition.

Until now, we’ve been surviving on "reasonable guesses" and industry whispers—but today, the wait for the official roster is over.

Let's dive into the official Cannes 2026 lineup.

What's Playing At Cannes 2026?

Credit: Cannes Film Festival

Here is the official lineup for the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

Opening Film

  • La Vénus Électrique (The Electric Kiss) – Dir. Pierre Salvadori

In Competition

The following films are vying for the prestigious Palme d’Or:

  • Amarga Navidad – Dir. Pedro Almodóvar
  • Parallel Tales – Dir. Asghar Farhadi
  • A Woman's Life – Dir. Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
  • La Bola Negra – Dir. Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
  • Coward – Dir. Lukas Dhont
  • Das Geträumte Abenteuer – Dir. Valeska Grisebach
  • All of Sudden – Dir. Hamaguchi Ryusuke
  • The Unknown – Dir. Arthur Harari
  • Another Day – Dir. Jeanne Herry
  • Sheep in the Box – Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
  • Hope – Dir. Na Hong-jin
  • Nagi Notes – Dir. Fukada Koji
  • Gentle Monster – Dir. Marie Kreutzer
  • Notre Salut – Dir. Emmanuel Marre
  • Fjord – Dir. Cristian Mungiu
  • The Birthday Party – Dir. Léa Mysius
  • Moulin – Dir. László Nemes
  • Fatherland – Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
  • The Man I Love – Dir. Ira Sachs
  • El Ser Querido (The Beloved) – Dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen
  • Minotaur – Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev

Un Certain Regard

  • Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – Dir. Jane Schoenbrun
  • Elephants in the Fog – Dir. Abinash Bikram Shah
  • Iron Boy – Dir. Louis Clichy
  • Ben'Imana – Dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
  • Congo Boy – Dir. Rafiki Fariala
  • Club Kid – Dir. Jordan Firstman
  • Ula – Dir. Viesturs Kairišs
  • La Más Dulce (Strawberries) – Dir. Laïla Marrakchi
  • El Deshielo (The Meltdown) – Dir. Manuela Martelli
  • Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno (Forever Your Maternal Animal) – Dir. Valentina Maurel
  • Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep – Dir. Rakan Mayasi
  • I'll Be Gone in June – Dir. Katharina Rivilis
  • Words of Love – Dir. Rudi Rosenberg
  • Everytime – Dir. Sandra Wollner
  • All the Lovers in the Night – Dir. Sode Yukiko

Out of Competition

  • La Bataille de Gaulle: L'Âge de Fer – Dir. Antonin Baudry
  • Karma – Dir. Guillaume Canet
  • Diamond – Dir. Andy Garcia
  • L'Abandon – Dir. Vincent Garenq
  • Crescendo – Dir. Agnès Jaoui
  • Her Private Hell – Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

Midnight Screenings

  • Full Phil – Dir. Quentin Dupieux
  • Sanguine – Dir. Marion Le Corroller
  • Roma Elastica – Dir. Bertrand Mandico
  • Jim Queen – Dir. Marco Nguyen & Nicolas Athané
  • Gun-Che (Colony) – Dir. Yeon Sang-ho

Cannes Premiere

  • La Troisième Nuit – Dir. Daniel Auteuil
  • The Match – Dir. Juan Cabral & Santiago Franco
  • Kokurojo (The Samurai and the Prisoner) – Dir. Kurosawa Kiyoshi
  • Heimsuchung (Visitation) – Dir. Volker Schlöndorff
  • Propeller One-Way Night Coach – Dir. John Travolta

Special Screenings

  • Rehearsals for a Revolution – Dir. Pegah Ahangarani
  • Les Matins Merveilleux – Dir. Avril Besson
  • L'Affaire Marie-Claire – Dir. Lauriane Escaffre & Yvo Muller
  • Avedon – Dir. Ron Howard
  • Les Survivants du Che – Dir. Christophe Dimitri Réveille
  • John Lennon: The Last Interview – Dir. Steven Soderbergh
  • Cantona – Dir. David Tryhorn & Ben Nicholas

Let us know what you think of the lineup in the comments.

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