The countdown to the 2026 Cannes Film Festival is on! Artistic director Thierry Fremaux and president Iris Knobloch will clue viewers in on which films made the coveted official selection, the popular Un Certain Regard sidebar and other parts of the program for the 79th edition of the fest during a Paris press conference starting at 11 a.m. local time/10 a.m. London time/5 a.m. New York time on Thursday morning.
Last week, Cannes unveiled that its 2026 edition would open with Pierre Salvadori’s 1920s-set La Vénus électrique (The Electric Kiss) on May 12, following the opening ceremony hosted by actress Eye Haïdara. It also unveiled the world premiere of John Travolta’s directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, in the Cannes Premiere Selection.
The fest described Salvadori’s 11th feature film as a “delightfully burlesque romantic comedy” that is the filmmaker’s “imaginings of the Roaring 20s, marked by artistic effervescence, popular entertainment, and spiritualism.” Pio Marmaï stars in the movie, marking his fourth collaboration with Salvadori, alongside Anaïs Demoustier (The Count of Monte Cristo) and Gilles Lellouche (Beating Hearts). Vimala Pons and Gustave Kervern also feature in the film.
South Korean director Park Chan-wook, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Oldboy, The Handmaiden
and No Other Choice, will be the jury president of Cannes 2026, heading up the group that will select the winner of this year’s Palme d’Or.
The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will receive an honorary Palme d’Or in recognition of his life’s work at this year’s festival. The New Zealand filmmaker has never had a film in official selection in Cannes, but his connection to the fest’s market goes back to 1988, when he brought his first feature, Bad Taste, to the Marche, securing global distribution for the low-budget splatter horror classic. And in 2001, Jackson screened 26 minutes of promo footage from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, winning over sceptical international distributors.
Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident won last year’s Cannes Palme d’Or. The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival runs May 12-23.
Watch the unveiling of the 2026 lineup live below.
