Cannes opens May 12 with 22 films

Cannes is where the movie year suddenly gets real. A film can exist for months as a rumor, a cast list, or a sales pitch — then one screening in the Grand Théâtre Lumière turns it into a contender, a disaster, or the thing everyone spends the next week arguing about. That switch flips on Tuesday, May 12, when the 79th festival opens on the Croisette and starts its sprint to the Palme d’Or on May 23. ### What actually starts on May 12? The festival opens with its ceremony on Tuesday, May 12, and runs through May 23. The official competition has 22 films in the Palme race, and the opening-night film is Pierre Salvadori’s “The Electric Kiss,” which plays out of competition — a reminder that Cannes likes to separate party-starting spectacle from the films it may actually crown. (rogerebert.com) ### Why do those 22 films matter so much? Because Cannes is still the fastest way to change a movie’s status. A title arrives as “the new film by Almodóvar” or “the James Gray late addition,” but after a premiere it becomes something sharper — masterpiece, disappointment, distribution target, awards player. This year’s competition includes Pedro Almodóvar’s “Amarga Navidad,” Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales,” Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “All of a Sudden,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Sheep in the Box,” Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love,” and Gray’s “Paper Tiger.” (festival-cannes.com) ### Who decides the winner? Park Chan-wook leads the main jury, which is a big symbolic moment in itself — Cannes says this is the first time Korean cinema has had a jury president for the feature competition. The rest of the jury is stacked with recognizable names from different corners of film culture, including Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Paul Laverty, Isaach De Bankolé, Diego Céspedes, and Laura Wandel. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why is Peter Jackson part of opening night? Because Cannes likes opening night to do two jobs at once — launch the new edition and stage a piece of film history. This year the honorary Palme d’Or goes to Peter Jackson, which gives the ceremony a very mainstream-cinema charge. That matters because Cannes often gets caricatured as being only about austere art films, but it keeps insisting that blockbuster craft and festival prestige can live in the same room. (festival-cannes.com) ### Is this just red carpets and celebrity traffic? Not really. The red carpet is the packaging, but the real machine is reviews, sales, and reputation. Cannes is where buyers decide what to acquire, critics start building consensus, and awards-watchers begin sorting which premieres might travel all the way to Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and then the Oscars. One strong reception here can work like a voltage surge through the rest of the year. (festival-cannes.com) ### What kind of lineup is Cannes pushing this year? A very international one, and a very auteur-heavy one. The competition stretches across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America, with returning Cannes regulars mixed with newer voices. That blend is the festival’s core pitch — prestige veterans bring attention, but discoveries keep Cannes from turning into a museum of familiar names. (rogerebert.com) ### What changes once the festival opens? Before opening day, coverage is basically roster analysis. After opening day, everything becomes evidence. Reviews land. Performances break out. Odds shift. A movie that looked minor on paper can become the one everyone is chasing by Wednesday morning. That’s the real reason Cannes opening matters — not because the festival begins, but because the guessing ends. (festival-cannes.com) ### Bottom line? For the next 12 days, Cannes is less a celebration than a sorting machine. Twenty-two films go in, and by the end a few will leave with prizes, many with new reputations, and at least one with the kind of momentum that can define the rest of 2026. (france24.com) (rogerebert.com)