Festival de Cannes to announce winners May 23
- Festival de Cannes said its 79th closing ceremony will reveal the 2026 winners on Saturday, May 23, at the Palais des Festivals. - Park Chan-wook heads the jury choosing from 22 Competition films, while the Short Film Palme d'Or comes from 10 entries. - The winners list is due during the May 23 closing ceremony in Cannes, according to the festival's official release.
The Festival de Cannes said the winners of its 79th edition were due to be announced on Saturday, May 23, at the closing ceremony in Cannes, France. The ceremony is set for the Palais des Festivals, where the festival said jury president Park Chan-wook will lead deliberations on the main Competition awards. The official selection page lists 22 feature films in Competition for the Palme d'Or and other prizes. The festival has also said the Short Film Palme d'Or will be awarded during the same ceremony. ### Who is making the final decision tonight? Park Chan-wook, the South Korean director, screenwriter and producer, is presiding over the main jury for the 79th Festival de Cannes, according to the festival's closing-ceremony release. The jury is responsible for selecting the winners from the 22 films in Competition, the festival said. (festival-cannes.com) The festival's official wording says the jury will "announce the winners list" on May 23. Cannes traditionally unveils several prizes at the closing ceremony, including the Palme d'Or, Grand Prix, Jury Prize and acting awards, though the release tied specifically to Saturday's event focuses on the winners list rather than naming each category individually. (festival-cannes.com) ### How big is the field this year? The official selection page shows 22 feature films in Competition. The lineup includes films by Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Cristian Mungiu, James Gray, Hirokazu Koreeda and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, among others. The festival also said 10 short films were selected from 3,184 submissions and that the Short Film Palme d'Or would be awarded during the May 23 closing ceremony. (festival-cannes.com) That gives Saturday's event two headline competitive outcomes: the main feature-film awards and the short-film prize. (festival-cannes.com) ### Which films are in contention for the Palme d'Or? The Competition slate published by Cannes includes "Fjord" by Cristian Mungiu, "Notre Salut (A Man of His Time)" by Emmanuel Marre, "Fatherland" by Pawel Pawlikowski, "Paper Tiger" by James Gray and "The Man I Love" by Ira Sachs. The same page lists "Amarga Navidad" by Pedro Almodóvar and "Histoires Parallèles (Parallel Tales)" by Asghar Farhadi. (festival-cannes.com) The official selection page is the festival's public reference for the 2026 Competition roster. It also separates Competition from Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Cannes Première and other sections, making clear which titles are eligible for the top prize. ### Where does the ceremony fit in the festival calendar? (festival-cannes.com) The festival's main site says the 79th edition runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. A screenings guide published by Cannes says official-selection screenings took place across that window, with May 23 serving as the final day. The closing ceremony therefore caps the festival's 12-day run and formalizes the jury's decisions after the Competition screenings have concluded. (festival-cannes.com) That schedule is consistent with the festival's published program and closing-ceremony notice. ### Where will the winners be posted once they are announced? The Festival de Cannes said the closing ceremony would take place at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on May 23. (festival-cannes.com) The festival's website is carrying the closing-ceremony notice, the official selection roster and the screenings guide for the 2026 edition. Saturday's next formal step is the release of the winners list by the Cannes jury chaired by Park Chan-wook. (festival-cannes.com) The festival's official site is the primary source for the announcement and the final palmarès. (festival-cannes.com)
