Cannes 2026: 10 Must-See Films from Refn, Hamaguchi, and Kreutzer
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival, running on the Croisette, features a robust lineup despite a lack of Hollywood spectacle. Park Chan-wook heads the main competition jury. Notable entries include Lukas Dhont's World War I period drama 'Coward', Paweł Pawlikowski's 'Fatherland' starring Sandra Hüller as Erika Mann, and Marie Kreutzer's 'Gentle Monster' with Léa Seydoux and Jella Haase. Na Hong-jin returns with 'Hope', a horror set near the Korean DMZ starring Jung Ho-yeon. Kantemir Balagov's 'Butterfly Jam' follows a Russian migrant wrestler in New Jersey. Nicolas Winding Refn presents 'Her Private Hell', his first film in a decade. Jordan Firstman debuts 'Club Kid' in Un Certain Regard. Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' features a humanoid infant. Arie and Chuko Esiri reimagine 'Mrs Dalloway' as 'Clarissa' in Lagos. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' is a three-hour-plus drama set in Paris. Omitted works include Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord', Pedro Almodóvar's 'Bitter Christmas', Asghar Farhadi's 'Parallel Tales', and Ira Sachs' 'The Man I Love'.
Key facts
- Park Chan-wook heads the main competition jury at Cannes 2026.
- Lukas Dhont's 'Coward' is a period drama about two men staging a revue in WWI trenches.
- Paweł Pawlikowski's 'Fatherland' stars Sandra Hüller as Erika Mann, daughter of Thomas Mann.
- Marie Kreutzer's 'Gentle Monster' was inspired by the Florian Teichmeister child pornography scandal.
- Na Hong-jin's 'Hope' is a horror film set near the Korean DMZ, starring Jung Ho-yeon.
- Kantemir Balagov's 'Butterfly Jam' follows a Russian migrant wrestler in New Jersey.
- Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Her Private Hell' is his first film in ten years.
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' runs three and a quarter hours and is set in Paris.
- Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' features a humanoid infant.
- Arie and Chuko Esiri's 'Clarissa' reimagines 'Mrs Dalloway' in present-day Lagos.
Entities
Artists
- Nicolas Winding Refn
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- Marie Kreutzer
- Tom Cruise
- Cristian Mungiu
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Asghar Farhadi
- Ira Sachs
- Park Chan-wook
- Lukas Dhont
- Angelo Tijssens
- Frank van de Eeden
- Paweł Pawlikowski
- Sandra Hüller
- Erika Mann
- Thomas Mann
- Florian Teichmeister
- Léa Seydoux
- Jella Haase
- Na Hong-jin
- Julia Ducournau
- Coralie Fargeat
- Bong Joon Ho
- Jung Ho-yeon
- Michael Fassbender
- Alicia Vikander
- Taylor Russell
- Kantemir Balagov
- Barry Keoghan
- Riley Keough
- Harry Melling
- Monica Bellucci
- Sophie Thatcher
- Charles Melton
- Havana Rose Liu
- Diego Calva
- Jordan Firstman
- Alia Shawkat
- Sebastian Silva
- Rachel Sennott
- Cara Delevingne
- Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Haruka Ayase
- Kazuho Ishiguro
- Taika Waititi
- Arie Esiri
- Chuko Esiri
- Virginia Woolf
- Sophie Okonedo
- Ayo Edebiri
- Inidia Amarteifio
- Virginie Efra
- Mari Morisaki
- Makiko Miyano
- Maho Isono
Institutions
- Cannes Film Festival
- Sag-Aftra
- Austrian government
Locations
- Cannes
- France
- Croisette
- Belgium
- UK
- Poland
- Germany
- Austria
- Korea
- Demilitarised Zone
- Russia
- US
- New Jersey
- Denmark
- Lagos
- Nigeria
- Paris