My Most Expected Movies from Cannes Film Festival 2026

There is always a satisfying feeling when directors you strongly believe in end up succeeding at major festivals. From the four films I anticipated the most before Cannes began, all four received awards and one even won the Palme d’Or.

Now that the festival is over, the prizes have been awarded and the first critical reactions are out, I can finally make a list of the films I most want to see from this year’s edition. I am excluding the four titles I already mentioned previously, as well as Bitter Christmas, which I had the chance to watch in Spain a few months ago. These are ten films from different sections of the festival (Competition, Un Certain Regard, Critics’ Week and Directors’ Fortnight), that I am most excited to experience in cinemas.

After Drive My Car, Asako I & II and Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi has become one of the contemporary Japanese directors whose work I anticipate the most. All of a Sudden marks his French-language debut and follows the director of a nursing home in Paris. Early reactions described it as one of the most poetic and intimate films of the festival, with particular praise directed toward its actresses, who ended up winning the acting prize. Hamaguchi’s ability to create emotional depth through silence and everyday conversations makes this one of my biggest priorities from Cannes.

According to critics and festival reactions, La Gradiva became one of the major discoveries of Cannes 2026. Marine Atlan’s debut feature premiered in Critics’ Week, where it won the Grand Prize and was also considered a strong contender for the Caméra d’Or. The coming-of-age story has additionally been highlighted in discussions surrounding the Queer Palm, continuing a year in Cannes where queer cinema had a particularly strong presence across multiple sections. The combination of strong word of mouth and the excitement surrounding a new directorial voice immediately placed it on my watchlist.

Premiering in Directors’ Fortnight and winning the Audience Award, Clio Barnard’s latest film has quickly become one of the most acclaimed dramas of the festival. Adapted from the novel of the same name, the story follows childhood friends confronting adulthood and emotional distance. Films dealing with friendship, memory and the difficult transition into adult life almost always resonate with me personally, especially when approached with emotional realism rather than nostalgia.

Among the Spanish films presented in Competition this year, La Bola Negra ended up becoming the biggest revelation. Initially, I was more interested in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El Ser Querido, but after reading reactions, watching clips and hearing about the long ovation after the premiere of La Bola Negra, my curiosity completely shifted toward the new film by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. Inspired by Federico García Lorca’s unfinished work of the same name, the film intertwines three stories with queer protagonists across different periods of Spanish history. For only their second feature film, the Javis already seem capable of balancing historical memory, identity and performance in a way that feels ambitious and emotionally charged.

I am always interested in films that strongly divide critics and audiences, especially when they come from directors with such a distinctive cinematic voice. Hope, a nearly three-hour science fiction film about aliens arriving in a small Korean town, feels like the kind of chaotic and ambitious project that does not naturally fit within the Cannes Competition — which makes me even more curious about it. After The Yellow Sea and The Wailing, I am excited to see Na Hong-jin return with another intense and unpredictable experience.

Every year Cannes seems to quietly premiere at least one animated film that later becomes one of the highlights of the year, and Le Corset could easily become that title for 2026. The film follows a young boy with balance difficulties who is forced to wear a medical corset, and it already received the Special Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard. Comparisons to Flow immediately caught my attention, especially because emotionally grounded animated films often become some of the most memorable cinematic experiences of the year.

Among the French films in Competition, Notre Salut received some of the strongest reviews of the festival and ended up being the only French production awarded this year. Set during the reconstruction period after war, the film follows a man attempting to rediscover his place within a damaged society. Even if the premise initially did not immediately attract me, the reactions toward the lead performance and the emotional atmosphere of the film made me increasingly curious. I am particularly interested in stories about postwar identity and people attempting to rebuild themselves emotionally while surrounded by collective trauma.

An adaptation of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf set in Nigeria immediately sounds fascinating to me. Clarissa follows a woman preparing a social gathering while reflecting on memory, desire, aspirations and emotional dissatisfaction. Premiering in Directors’ Fortnight, the film received praise for Sophie Okonedo’s performance as well as for its screenplay adaptation. I am always interested in seeing literary classics reinterpreted through different cultural and geographical contexts, especially when questions of identity and social performance remain central themes.

A photographer meets a mysterious woman at a party and, after sleeping with her, wakes up trapped inside her body. Out of all the Competition films this year, L’Inconnue probably has the wildest premise. The film divided critics heavily and was even booed during its Cannes premiere, something increasingly rare at the festival today. At the same time, several critics considered it one of the boldest films in Competition and even argued it deserved the Palme d’Or. Personally, a provocative premise combined with Léa Seydoux in the leading role is already enough to make me interested.

Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize, Everytime emerged unexpectedly over several films considered early frontrunners within the section. The story follows a mother, daughter and young boy traveling through Tenerife while dealing with a tragedy affecting all three. Critics described the film as enigmatic, emotionally distant and psychologically intricate, qualities that usually attract me immediately. Additionally, I am always interested in female directors exploring family dynamics, grief and emotional fragmentation.