ACID adds nine films

Cannes’ ACID sidebar has added nine films to its 2026 lineup, a filmmaker-run selection that sits outside the festival’s main official slate and starts May 13. (lacid.org) ACID said 13 filmmakers reviewed several hundred submissions and chose nine titles, including six first features. The section runs from May 13 to May 22 during the 79th Cannes Film Festival. (lacid.org) (screendaily.com) Screen Daily reported that all nine ACID titles are world premieres. The mix includes four fiction films, three documentaries, one animated film and one hybrid feature. (screendaily.com) The opening film is *Born Under A Bad Star*, a debut feature by Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier set in a suburban neighborhood in southern France. Other selected titles include *A Secret Heart*, *Blaise*, *Detention*, *Dans La Gueule De L’Ogre*, *Living Twice, Dying Thrice*, *Promised Spaces*, *Rewind Barcelona* and *Summer Drift*. (screendaily.com) Two of the nine films come from Iran-born directors, according to The Hollywood Reporter. One is Karim Lakzadeh’s *Living Twice, Dying Thrice*, about three miners who survive a collapse and conceal that fact so their families can claim compensation. (hollywoodreporter.com) (screendaily.com) ACID stands for the Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema, a French filmmakers’ group founded in 1992 to support the circulation of independent films in theaters. The organization says it follows the selected movies after Cannes through cinema bookings, festivals and education partnerships. (lacid.org) (hollywoodreporter.com) The section has built its reputation by backing directors early. The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily both note that past ACID selections included early work by Justine Triet, Kaouther Ben Hania and Radu Jude. (hollywoodreporter.com) (screendaily.com) This year’s ACID announcement lands after Cannes unveiled its main 2026 lineup on April 9, with the festival itself running from May 12 to May 23. That staggered rollout is how Cannes fills out its parallel sections, which operate alongside Competition and special screenings. (deadline.com) ACID’s nine-film slate gives Cannes another lane for smaller independent movies before the festival opens on the Croisette next month. The section’s own pitch is straightforward: find first and second features early, then keep pushing them after Cannes ends. (lacid.org) (hollywoodreporter.com)