Werner Herzog declines Cannes invitation

Werner Herzog didn’t just skip Cannes. He turned down an official invitation for his new film, “Bucking Fastard,” after the festival declined to put it in Competition. That sounds like inside-baseball festival politics — but it actually matters because Competition is where the big Cannes prizes live, including the acting awards. If Herzog believed Kate Mara and Rooney Mara had a real shot, an out-of-competition premiere would have felt like showing up without access to the race. ### What actually happened? A spokesperson for the film confirmed that “Bucking Fastard” was invited as part of the 2026 Cannes official selection, and the filmmakers declined. The missing piece was the section. Herzog wanted Competition, and Cannes didn’t offer it. So the movie won’t premiere there after all. (variety.com) ### Why does Competition matter so much? At Cannes, “official selection” is not one thing. There’s Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Premiere, Out of Competition, and other sidebars. But Competition is the main arena — Palme d’Or, Grand Prix, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and the acting prizes all sit there. If a film screens elsewhere in the official lineup, it gets prestige, but not the same awards path. (variety.com) That seems to be the whole point of Herzog’s refusal. ### Why were the Mara sisters central? The reporting around the decision points to Kate Mara and Rooney Mara. They play twin sisters, Jean and Joan Holbrooke, in what’s being described as a very performance-driven film. The movie is also their first screen collaboration, which already gives it extra attention. If Herzog and the team think those roles are the movie’s strongest Cannes asset, protecting awards eligibility starts to look less petty and more strategic. (festival-cannes.com) ### What is “Bucking Fastard,” exactly? It’s an English-language Herzog drama about sisters so intensely bonded that they speak in unison, fall for the same man, and start digging through a mountain range in search of an imagined place where true love exists. Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson are also in the cast. Herzog has framed the film in unusually grand terms before, calling it the completion of a kind of trilogy with “Fitzcarraldo” and “Grizzly Man.” That tells you how seriously he takes it. (variety.com) ### Why was there so much confusion? Because Cannes appears to have briefly listed the film and then it vanished from the final selection pages. Variety says the movie was initially included in Cannes’ first lineup announcement, which made people assume a premiere was set. But the current official selection pages do not include it. So what looked like a late Cannes withdrawal was really a declined invitation after a section dispute. (imdb.com) ### Is this kind of snub unusual? Not really — but it’s still a flex. Big-name directors sometimes treat a non-Competition slot as a downgrade, especially if they think they have an awards contender. The comparison floating around is Jim Jarmusch, who also skipped Cannes in 2025 after not getting Competition for “Father Mother Sister Brother.” Basically, Cannes still has enormous prestige, but auteurs with leverage sometimes decide that the wrong berth is worse than no berth. (variety.com) ### So where could the film go next? Venice is the obvious guess, though that part is still inference, not confirmation. Skipping Cannes leaves “Bucking Fastard” available for another major fall launch, and Venice has a history of benefiting films that arrive with a little grievance and a lot of auteur heat. At minimum, Herzog has kept the movie from being defined by an out-of-competition label. (variety.com) ### Bottom line? This wasn’t a casual pass on Cannes. It was Herzog saying that if “Bucking Fastard” couldn’t enter the main race, he’d rather hold the film back than let it arrive half-crowned. (variety.com) (yahoo.com)