Cannes slate deepens
Vogue ran a preview of 17 high‑profile films expected at Cannes 2026, naming directors such as Pedro Almodóvar and Kristen Stewart and positioning the festival’s slate as especially buzzy this year (vogue.com). Separately, Afrocritik reported that three African productions—Congo Boy, Strawberries and Ben’imana—have been selected for Un Certain Regard, underscoring the festival’s expanding international reach (afrocritik.com).
Cannes has turned its 2026 lineup into a broader world-cinema showcase, with Pedro Almodóvar in the main selection and three African productions in Un Certain Regard. (festival-cannes.com) The festival unveiled its Official Selection on April 9 for the 79th edition, which runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. The list spans Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiere and Special Screenings. (festival-cannes.com) In Competition, Cannes named 21 films, including new work from Asghar Farhadi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cristian Mungiu, Paweł Pawlikowski and Ira Sachs. Pedro Almodóvar’s *Amarga Navidad* was placed Out of Competition rather than in the Palme d’Or race. (festival-cannes.com) Un Certain Regard, Cannes’s section for distinctive and often newer voices, includes 13 features in the April 9 announcement. Three of them are *Ben’imana* by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, *Congo Boy* by Rafiki Fariala and *La Más Dulce (Strawberries)* by Laïla Marrakchi. (festival-cannes.com) That grouping gives African filmmakers an unusually visible place in one of Cannes’s core sidebars. Afrocritik reported the three selections together as a marker of the section’s international spread in this year’s lineup. (afrocritik.com) The 2026 slate also mixes established auteurs with first features. The official list marks *Ben’imana* as a first film, alongside several other Un Certain Regard entries and John Travolta’s first film in Cannes Premiere. (festival-cannes.com) Trade coverage described the Competition field as strong on arthouse names even as Hollywood studio presence stayed lighter. The Hollywood Reporter said five of the 21 competition films announced so far are from female directors, and said the lineup is not yet complete. (hollywoodreporter.com) Ahead of the official reveal, preview coverage had already framed Cannes as a likely landing spot for prestige titles from filmmakers such as Almodóvar and Kristen Stewart. The final April 9 announcement confirmed the Almodóvar berth while showing Cannes still has room to add more films before opening night. (vogue.com) (hollywoodreporter.com) The result is a Cannes program that now runs on two tracks at once: familiar festival heavyweights in the headline slots, and newer directors from a wider set of countries just below them. The next test comes on the Croisette in May, when the lineup moves from announcement-season buzz to premieres and prizes. (festival-cannes.com)
