Cannes opens May 12 with drama

Cannes is about movies, obviously. But it is also about hierarchy — who gets into Competition, who gets parked in a side section, and who decides that isn’t good enough. That’s why the first real bit of drama this year arrived before opening night. Werner Herzog turned down an official Cannes slot for “Bucking Fastard” after the film was not offered a Competition berth. ### What exactly happened? “Bucking Fastard” was invited to the 2026 festival, but Herzog’s team declined the invitation. The reason seems pretty simple: the movie was not selected for the main Competition, the section that carries the Palme d’Or race and the highest-profile acting awards. A spokesperson for the film confirmed that Cannes invited it and the filmmakers said no. (variety.com) ### Why does Competition matter so much? At Cannes, not all premieres are equal. Competition is the top table. That is where the festival’s biggest prizes live, and it is where a film gets framed as a major artistic event rather than just another premiere on a packed schedule. If you think of Cannes as part film festival, part status machine, Competition is the machine’s control room. (variety.com) ### Why was Herzog willing to walk away? The key detail is the cast. Herzog reportedly hoped Kate Mara and Rooney Mara could contend for acting honors, and that only really becomes a live possibility in Competition. So declining the non-Competition invite looks less like a tantrum and more like a strategic refusal to let the movie arrive in a diminished lane. The catch is that this also means giving up the immediate Cannes spotlight. (festival-cannes.com) ### What is “Bucking Fastard” anyway? It is Herzog’s new film starring real-life sisters Kate Mara and Rooney Mara as twin sisters Joan and Jean. The story is based on a true case and follows the sisters’ intense bond and fixation on a neighbor. The project already had some Cannes-market buzz last year, when buyers were shown early material and first-look imagery. (variety.com) ### So what does Cannes look like without it? Still huge. The festival runs from May 12 to May 23, and the official selection was unveiled on April 9, then expanded on April 22. The Competition lineup is stacked with heavyweight directors including Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Cristian Mungiu, Pawel Pawlikowski, and James Gray. In other words, Cannes is not short on prestige even with Herzog out. (hollywoodreporter.com) ### What’s with the Thelma & Louise poster? Cannes picked “Thelma & Louise” as the image for its 79th edition, marking 35 years since Ridley Scott’s film premiered there in 1991. The festival is clearly leaning into a story about freedom, female friendship, and movie memory. That choice also tells you something about how Cannes wants this edition to feel — classic, glamorous, and self-aware about its own mythology. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why does this pre-festival snub matter? Because Cannes runs on symbolic wins and losses as much as on screenings. A director declining an official invitation is rare enough to stand out, and Herzog is not some newcomer trying to make noise. When someone with that stature says a side berth is not enough, he is basically making the festival’s ranking system visible in public. (festival-cannes.com) ### Bottom line? The festival has not even opened yet, and the first Cannes story is already about status, awards, and who gets to be treated as essential. That is very Cannes. The movies matter — but the placement, the symbolism, and the pecking order matter almost as much. (festival-cannes.com) (variety.com)