79th Cannes Film Festival Opens Without Italian Films, Honors Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand
The 79th Cannes Film Festival is set to take place from May 12 to May 23, 2026, culminating in the prestigious Palme d'Or award ceremony. New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson will be honored with a career Palme d'Or presented by Elijah Wood, alongside Barbra Streisand, who will also receive the accolade. The jury, headed by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, features notable members such as Chloé Zhao, Demi Moore, and Stellan Skarsgård. A total of twenty-two films are vying for the Palme d'Or, with contributions from Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Due to a production crisis, no Italian films are included in the competition. Hollywood entries consist of The Man I Love and Paper Tiger, while notable out-of-competition films include John Travolta's Propeller One-Way Night Coach and a restored version of Fast & Furious, celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Key facts
- 79th Cannes Film Festival runs May 12–23, 2026
- Career Palme d'Or awarded to Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand
- Jury president: Park Chan-wook; members include Chloé Zhao, Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård
- 22 films compete for Palme d'Or; no Italian films in competition or special sections
- Italian film absence due to production crisis from delayed public funding
- Only two Hollywood films in competition: The Man I Love and Paper Tiger
- Notable competition films by Almodóvar, Farhadi, Hamaguchi, Kore-eda, Mungiu, Nemes
- Out-of-competition: John Travolta directorial debut, Soderbergh Lennon doc, Full Phil
Entities
Artists
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Asghar Farhadi
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- Peter Jackson
- Elijah Wood
- Barbra Streisand
- Park Chan-wook
- Chloé Zhao
- Demi Moore
- Stellan Skarsgård
- Jafar Panahi
- Joachim Trier
- Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Ira Sachs
- Rami Malek
- James Gray
- Adam Driver
- Miles Teller
- Scarlett Johansson
- Javier Bardem
- Penélope Cruz
- Renate Reinsve
- Cristian Mungiu
- Léa Seydoux
- Arthur Harari
- Marie Kreutzer
- Sandra Hüller
- Pawel Pawlikowski
- Hirokazu Kore-eda
- László Nemes
- Jane Schoenbrun
- Gillian Anderson
- Hannah Einbinder
- Andy García
- Nicolas Winding Refn
- Sophie Thatcher
- John Travolta
- Steven Soderbergh
- Woody Harrelson
- Kristen Stewart
- Michael Fassbender
- Alicia Vikander
- Na Hong-jin
- Catherine Deneuve
- Isabelle Huppert
- Vincent Cassel
- Monica Bellucci
- Julianne Moore
- Guillermo del Toro
- Dario Argento
- Robbie Williams
- Vin Diesel
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Rodrigo Sorogoyen
- Léa Mysius
- Emmanuel Marre
- Koji Fukada
- Jeanne Herry
- Valeska Grisebach
- Lukas Dhont
- Javier Ambrossi
- Javier Calvo
- Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
- Thomas Mann
- Lucas Harari
Institutions
- Cannes Film Festival
- Palais des Festivals
- Oscars
- Berlin International Film Festival
- Fast & Furious franchise
Locations
- Cannes
- France
- New Zealand
- United States
- South Korea
- Spain
- Iran
- Japan
- Norway
- Brazil
- Poland
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Italy
- Romania
- Denmark
- Finland
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Austria
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Netherlands
- Bulgaria
- New York
- Tokyo
- France (Paris implied)