Cannes 2026: Almodóvar, Farhadi, Hamaguchi Lead Packed Lineup
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival promises a rich and ambitious edition with major auteurs returning to the Croisette. Pedro Almodóvar presents 'Amarga Navidad', an autofictional exploration of a director in crisis. Asghar Farhadi's 'Parallel Tales' follows a writer obsessed with her neighbors. Ira Sachs' 'The Man I Love' is set in 1980s New York amid the AIDS crisis. Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Her Private Hell' blends horror, sci-fi, and noir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' intertwines care, theater, and illness. Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' explores grief through a humanoid replacement child. Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord' remains mysterious. Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Fatherland' follows Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika in 1949 Germany. Andrey Zvyagintsev's 'Minotaur' is set in 2022 Russia, depicting a businessman's collapse. The lineup signals a competition focused on auteur cinema, with themes of identity, memory, and political tension.
Key facts
- Cannes 2026 will feature new films by Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Pawel Pawlikowski, and others.
- Almodóvar's 'Amarga Navidad' centers on a filmmaker in crisis and his relationship with a filmmaker named Elsa.
- Farhadi's 'Parallel Tales' follows a writer named Sylvie who obsessively observes her neighbors.
- Sachs' 'The Man I Love' is set in downtown New York in the late 1980s during the AIDS crisis.
- Refn's 'Her Private Hell' features a mysterious fog in a futuristic metropolis and a young woman searching for her father.
- Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' involves a nursing home director and a Japanese theater director with cancer.
- Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' is about a couple who adopt a humanoid identical to their deceased son.
- Pawlikowski's 'Fatherland' is a historical road movie set in 1949 Germany, featuring Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika.
- Zvyagintsev's 'Minotaur' is set in 2022 Russia and follows a successful businessman named Gleb.
- The article was written by Margherita Bordino for Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Asghar Farhadi
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
- Pawel Pawlikowski
- Ira Sachs
- Nicolas Winding Refn
- Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cristian Mungiu
- Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Margherita Bordino
- Thomas Mann
- Erika Mann
- Paweł Pawlikowski
- Sandra Hüller
- Isabelle Huppert
- Lukas Dhont
- Léa Mysius
- James Gray
- Jafar Panahi
Institutions
- Festival di Cannes
- Artribune
- Cannes Film Festival
- Monocle
Locations
- Cannes
- France
- New York
- United States
- Germany
- Russia
- Los Angeles
- Paris
- Japan
- Iran
- Belgium