Cannes opens 79th festival May 12

Cannes is back in its usual form — red carpet, tuxedos, flashbulbs, and a lineup designed to tell you where serious movie culture thinks cinema is headed next. The 79th festival opened on Tuesday, May 12, with Juliette Binoche leading the feature-film jury and Pierre Salvadori’s *The Electric Kiss* serving as the opening film. But the real story is bigger than one premiere. This year’s festival is making a very direct argument for theatrical movies, international auteurs, and Japan’s growing centrality to the global art-film ecosystem. ### What actually opened the festival? The ceremony on May 12 formally kicked off the 79th edition, which runs through May 23 in Cannes. Binoche arrived with a jury that includes Halle Berry, Payal Kapadia and Alba Rohrwacher, and the festival paired the opening-night ritual with Salvadori’s *The Electric Kiss*, which screened out of competition. That matters because Cannes uses its opener less as a “best film” signal and more as a tone-setter — something accessible enough to launch the event while the heavier contenders queue up behind it. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why do people care so much about the lineup? Because Cannes still acts like a master switch for the prestige-film year. A slot in Competition can shape financing, distribution, awards momentum, and the whole conversation around a director’s next few years. The 2026 Competition field is stacked with exactly the kind of names that make buyers and critics pay attention — Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, James Gray, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Cristian Mungiu, László Nemes, Pawel Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs, Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Andrey Zvyagintsev. (festival-cannes.com) ### So which films are the big magnets? A few titles jump out immediately. Almodóvar’s *Amarga Navidad* is in Competition, which gives Cannes one of its biggest marquee auteurs right away. Ira Sachs brings *The Man I Love*. Hamaguchi has *All of a Sudden*. Kore-eda arrives with *Sheep in the Box*. Pawlikowski has *Fatherland*. Basically, this is a field built to attract both cinephiles and distributors hunting for the next crossover arthouse hit. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why is Japan such a big part of this year? Because Japan is the Marché du Film’s 2026 Country of Honour, and that market designation is not just ceremonial. It comes with opening-night visibility at the business side of Cannes, plus panels, showcases, and networking meant to deepen ties between Japanese creators and international partners. On top of that, Japan is all over the artistic side too — Hamaguchi, Kore-eda, Fukada Koji, SODE Yukiko and Kurosawa Kiyoshi all appear across the Official Selection. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why does the market angle matter? Because Cannes is two machines running at once. One machine is glamour and premieres. The other is dealmaking — sales agents, streamers, distributors, producers, festival programmers. The Country of Honour slot tells the industry where Cannes thinks energy is building. In 2026, that signal points hard toward Japan’s film, animation and screen industries as export engines, not just festival favorites. (marchedufilm.com) ### Is this just about prestige directors? Not really. Cannes also uses the sidebars to place bets on newer voices. *Un Certain Regard* opens with Jane Schoenbrun’s *Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma*, and that section includes multiple first features. So the festival is doing the usual balancing act — canon-building in Competition, discovery in the side sections, and broader audience play in out-of-competition and midnight slots. (marchedufilm.com) ### What’s the bottom line? Cannes opened with the usual ceremony, but the substance is the point. The 2026 edition is telling the film world that theatrical prestige cinema still has institutional muscle — and that Japan is one of the places where that future is being written right now. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)