Cannes 79th festival opens May 14 — AP photo highlights and full May 12–23 schedule

The 79th Cannes Film Festival is underway on the French Riviera, with AP distributing opening-day photo highlights of arrivals, red-carpet moments and celebrity crowds as the event moved through its first full days on May 14. The festival’s official program says the 2026 edition runs from May 12 to May 23. Deadline said on May 13 that it had launched a running reviews list covering films across the festival dates. ### When did Cannes 2026 start, and how long does it run? Festival de Cannes lists the 79th edition as running from May 12 to May 23, 2026. The official program page says the lineup and events for the edition were unveiled in Paris on April 9, and the screenings guide published by the festival says official-selection screenings take place across those May 12-23 dates. (record-eagle.com) AP’s photo gallery said the festival is “underway” and described 12 days of premieres, photo calls and red-carpet events. That matches the official festival calendar, which spans 12 days on the Croisette. ### What did AP’s opening-day photo highlights actually show? (festival-cannes.com) AP’s gallery, republished by multiple outlets, focused on arrivals and posed photographs tied to the opening stretch of the festival. One caption carried by AP showed Jordana Brewster, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez arriving for the 25th anniversary screening of *The Fast and the Furious* in Cannes on Thursday, May 14. Another AP-captioned image showed director Pierre Salvadori with cast members at a photo call for *The Electric Kiss* on Wednesday, May 13. (record-eagle.com) Festival de Cannes’s homepage imagery on May 14 also featured photo-call and red-steps images from early festival titles including *A Woman’s Life*, *Nagi Notes* and *Ceniza en la Boca*. The official site presented those images alongside festival news items posted on May 14. ### Which film opened the festival? Deadline reported that French filmmaker Pierre Salvadori’s *The Electric Kiss* served as the opening-night film. (sfgate.com) The festival’s official selection release also lists *The Electric Kiss* as the opening film and notes that it screened out of competition. The official selection release says the 2026 lineup includes films in Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiere and Special Screenings. (festival-cannes.com) Among the Competition titles named by the festival are new films from Asghar Farhadi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cristian Mungiu, Ira Sachs and Pedro Almodóvar. (deadline.com) ### Why were Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in Cannes? Festival de Cannes said on May 6 that it would host a midnight screening of *The Fast and the Furious* to mark the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The festival said the screening was scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, at 11:45 p.m. at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. (festival-cannes.com) AP’s photo captions show Brewster, Diesel and Rodriguez arriving in Cannes for that anniversary event. The festival described the screening as a celebration of the 2001 film that launched the franchise. ### Where can readers track the films and reviews during the festival? Deadline said its Cannes 2026 reviews page would compile the outlet’s coverage and be updated daily during the festival. (festival-cannes.com) The May 13 post said the list would track reviews from Damon Wise, Pete Hammond and Stephanie Bunbury and cover films screened during the May 12-23 event. (baytobaynews.com) Festival de Cannes said its screenings guide for the 79th edition is available through the official site, with schedules for films in the Official Selection. The festival’s program page also says readers can check the 2026 lineup and book tickets through the online ticketing site. ### What happens next on the Croisette? (deadline.com) May 23 is the final day listed on the festival’s official program for the 79th edition. Until then, the festival’s program and screenings guide indicate that premieres, photo calls and official-selection screenings will continue across Cannes, while Deadline has said it will keep updating its reviews list during the run. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)