Cannes is back. From May 12 to 23, the south of France becomes the centre of the film universe for the 79th time, and this year's lineup is genuinely one to get excited about. Whether you're a cinephile who tracks every Palme d'Or prediction or someone who just loves a good red carpet moment, here's everything worth knowing.
The Film Everyone Will Be Talking About
Jane Schoenbrun opens Un Certain Regard with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. And no That title is not an accident. Their 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow was one of the most genuinely strange and emotionally overwhelming films in recent memory, a horror film that wasn't really a horror film, about identity and dissociation and the feeling of living inside the wrong life. It was the kind of film people either didn't know what to do with or couldn't stop thinking about. There was no middle ground.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is the opening film of Un Certain Regard, which is a significant placement. The film stars Academy Award-winner Gillian Anderson alongside Hannah Einbinder, best known for her role in Hacks. This is going to be one of the most talked about films of the festival or maybe even of the year.
The Wildcard Nobody Saw Coming
John Travolta is premiering his directorial debut at Cannes. The film is called Propeller One-Way Night Coach and it's in the Cannes Premiere section. That's all the information available. It's either going to be completely unhinged or genuinely surprising. Possibly both.
The Icons Showing Up
Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kore-eda, Mungiu, Pawlikowski. ~ If those names mean nothing to you, just know that between them they've won practically every major prize in cinema. They're all in Competition this year, which means the standard is absurdly high before a single frame has been screened. Almodóvar's entry is called Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas).
The one most people are predicting big things for is Lukas Dhont's Coward. His last film Close won the Grand Prix in 2022 and had audiences completely undone by the end. Whatever he's made next, it's worth knowing about.
For the Culture
Ron Howard is bringing a documentary on Richard Avedon to Special Screenings, which feels well-timed given how much conversation there's been lately about fashion photography, its power, and its complications. Steven Soderbergh is also presenting John Lennon: The Last Interview, which is exactly what it sounds like and will almost certainly be devastating.
The Opening Night
Pierre Salvadori's La Vénus Électrique kicks everything off on May 12. It's showing Out of Competition, traditionally a signal that it's more of a crowd-pleasing opener than a Palme contender, but opening night at Cannes is its own kind of event regardless of category.
Cannes 2026 runs May 12–23. We'll be covering the highlights as the festival unfolds on our Instagram, so follow for the latest updates
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