The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival commenced on Tuesday, May 12. In his annual press conference leading up to the event, festival director Thierry Frémaux addressed a wide range of questions, from the lack of Hollywood studio films programmed this year to doubling down on the no-selfies-on-the-red-carpet policy.
The small presence of Hollywood is something that Frémaux hopes was an outlier rather than a rule, stating that he “hopes the studio films come back.” In recent years, films such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Elvis, and Top Gun: Maverick held their premieres on the Croisette before traveling home to mass audiences. The A-list star power of these titles attracts the type of buzz to the red carpet that Cannes thrives on, after all. Instead, the blockbuster-free lineup features only two American independent productions: Paper Tiger from James Gray and The Man I Love from Ira Sachs. As for the no selfies rule, Frémaux appears unflinching despite Elijah Wood’s best efforts.
The festival kicked off with a Cannes Classics screening of Pan’s Labyrinth with Guillermo del Toro in attendance for the film’s 20th anniversary. Paired with the festival’s opening night film, La Vénus Électrique, the quirky period rom-com helped set the tone for a program that highlights international auteurs, both established and emerging, across its competition lineup and parallel sidebar sections.
Here is a curated selection of our most anticipated titles for Nandita Joshi and Danny Jarabek, who are attending the festival.
In Competition
Fatherland, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
Known for his lush black-and-white photography of postwar Poland in his last two features, Cold War (2018) and Ida (2013), Pawel Pawlikowski is aiming to recapture the Cannes magic he struck with a Best Director prize eight years ago. Fatherland operates in familiar territory for the Polish filmmaker exploring postwar life in Germany, this time through the lens of Nobel Prize-winning German author Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika Mann, played by Hanns Zischler and Sandra Hüller, respectively.
The pair embark on a road trip across Germany at the height of the Cold War, and the film explores Mann’s relationship to art and opposition to the Nazi regime, which forced him to flee the country many years prior. It’s part of a career year for Sandra Hüller, who is adding to her 2026 filmography that already includes Project Hail Mary, a Berlin award-winning performance in Rose, and Digger, set to release this fall.
Gentle Monster, dir. Marie Kreutzer
After her sophisticated and provocative character-driven feature Corsage (2022) was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the 75th edition of the festival, Marie Kreutzer now returns In Competition with her family dramaGentle Monster. A concert pianist and her family move to the countryside in an attempt to remedy her husband’s burnout but instead are caught in a police investigation that threatens their relationship, forcing her to decide what is best for her son’s safety. Helmed by Cannes darling Léa Seydoux, who is also starring in Arthur Harari’s The Unknownthat premieres during the festival, the narrative promises to be a layered introspection of marriage and motherhood.
Hope, dir. Na Hong-Jin
In a festival that is populated with directors making long-awaited returns to the screen, perhaps none is more anticipated and welcomed than Na Hong-Jin’s Hope. His first film in a decade, Hope follows up The Wailing (2016), one of South Korea’s most prestigious and critically revered folk horror films. Na appears to be operating in the sci-fi/horror realm, with a story that follows the appearance of a mysterious beast in a remote harbor town that forces the local police to organize a hunt to protect their village. In a similar fashion to The Wailing, circumstances escalate quickly.
For our prior conversation on the announcement of the full Competition lineup, listen to The Awards Tape here.
Sidebar Sections
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, dir. Jane Schoenbrun
Opening the Un Certain Regard sidebar section, Jane Schoenbrun’s hotly anticipated Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is sure to rock the Croisette. Coming off the Sundance hit I Saw the TV Glow (2024), a banner year is in store for Schoenbrun with the Cannes premiere coming hot off the heels of the announcement for their debut novel, “Public Access Afterworld.”
The film follows a queer filmmaker hired to direct a sequel to a slasher franchise, but psychosexual mania soon takes over their life and the project. Known for investigating our relationship with media, Schoenbrun’s “new kind of horror” will be on full display for the Cannes audience.
In Waves, dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen
Stepping into the Semaine de la Critique lineup, Phuong Mai Nguyen explores the blossoming relationship between reserved AJ and surf-loving Kristen in her feature-length directorial debut, In Waves. What seems to be a heartwarming romance takes a turn when illness strikes, and they will do everything they can for their love to persevere. The festival is screening both the English (Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu) and French (Rio Vega and Lyna Khoudri) voice-overs for the animated feature.
Historically, animated films scarcely appear in the festival lineup, yet Shrek (2001), Robot Dreams (2023), and Flow (2024) have premiered here and gone on to achieve critical acclaim and award recognition. If an animated film gets highlighted anywhere at Cannes, you should be paying attention.
Sanguine, dir. Marion Le Corroller
Ever since Titane won the Palme d’Or back in 2021, body horror has entered a new stratosphere of popularity at the festival. Marion Le Corroller’s Sanguine joins the likes of Crimes of the Future (2022), The Substance (2024), and Alpha (2025) as the latest of the genre to premiere at Cannes. Set in an ER, the overwhelming environment and unusual symptoms lead to disconcerting consequences for intern Margot, played by Mara Taquin. This will be Le Corroller’s second feature-length film after dabbling in a seven-part anthology horror film, Built 2 Kill (2023).
Our Blind Palme d’Or Predictions
Hope – Danny Jarabek
All of a Sudden – Nandita Joshi, Ethan Dayton
Fatherland – Paul Rai
Minotaur – Owen Wilczek
Paper Tiger – Jacob Diedenhofer
Article Courtesy of Danny Jarabek and Nandita Joshi
Feature image credit to Amélie Canon via Festival de Cannes