Festival de Cannes winners announcement May 23

Festival de Cannes will announce the winners of its 79th edition on Saturday, May 23, at the closing ceremony in Cannes, according to the festival’s press office. The prizes will be decided by a nine-member jury chaired by South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook. (festival-cannes.com) The festival said the winners will be chosen from 22 films in Competition, with actor Eye Haïdara hosting the ceremony. The Cannes finale brings the Palme d’Or race to a close after 12 days of screenings that began on May 12. (festival-cannes.com) Festival materials say the ceremony will also mark the formal end of the 79th edition, while the winners list is due to be published online the same day. (festival-cannes.com) Reuters reported before the ceremony that this year’s field had no clear frontrunner, with Hollywood studios largely absent and arthouse directors dominating the competition. ### Who is deciding the prizes tonight? Park Chan-wook is presiding over the jury that will select the 2026 winners, the festival said. France 24 reported before the festival opened that the jury has nine members, and Reuters said the panel must choose among 22 competition titles. (festival-cannes.com) The festival’s press release identified Park as chair of the 79th Festival de Cannes jury. The same release said Haïdara, who presented the opening ceremony on May 12, will return to host the closing event. ### How many films are in contention for the Palme d’Or? (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes said 22 films are in Competition for the top prize. The official awards page repeats that the 2026 winners will come from the festival’s main selections, while Reuters described the field as a strong group of arthouse titles. Reuters said the contenders include films from Cannes regulars such as Pedro Almodóvar, Cristian Mungiu, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Iran’s Jafar Panahi. (festival-cannes.com) The news agency said the lineup reflected an edition that leaned more heavily on independent and auteur-driven cinema than on major Hollywood studio premieres. ### Why has the race been described as unusually open? The Associated Press said on May 23 that the Palme d’Or race appeared “wide open” heading into the ceremony. Reuters used similar language, reporting that no clear frontrunner had emerged before the jury met to decide the awards. (festival-cannes.com) That uncertainty has shaped much of the final-day coverage. The absence of a dominant consensus title meant attention shifted to the jury’s preferences and to whether Cannes veterans or a first-time prize winner would prevail, according to Reuters’ pre-ceremony report. ### Where can viewers follow the result as it happens? (kfgo.com) The festival’s awards page said the closing ceremony is being co-produced by France Télévisions and Brut. and broadcast live on France 2. Festival de Cannes also directs viewers to its live coverage page for ceremony updates, press conferences and other official video feeds. The official site said the winners list from the 79th edition will be available online on Saturday, May 23. (latestly.com) That gives viewers two official points of access: the live ceremony broadcast and the posted awards results on the festival website. ### What happens next after the ceremony? Saturday, May 23, is the final day of the 79th Festival de Cannes, the festival said in its closing-ceremony notice. (kfgo.com) The winners list is scheduled to be published online the same day, and the ceremony will be carried live on France 2 with Eye Haïdara hosting and Park Chan-wook’s jury unveiling the prizes in Cannes. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)