Cannes opens with hot red‑carpet moments

Cannes is back in its usual opening-night mode — part movie launch, part fashion parade, part global culture summit. But the first useful thing to clear up is simple: the 79th festival opened on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, not with a nostalgia screening package, but with Pierre Salvadori’s *La Vénus électrique*. Eye Haïdara hosted the ceremony, Park Chan-wook led this year’s competition jury, and Demi Moore was on that jury — which is why she was on the carpet and onstage, not just in a fashion roundup. ### So what actually happened on opening night? The opening ceremony at the Grand Théâtre Lumière kicked off the 12-day festival, with Haïdara serving as mistress of ceremonies before the premiere of *La Vénus électrique*. The festival’s own opening-night materials and press notes tie the night directly to that film, which makes some early summaries floating around look muddled. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why are people talking about the carpet so much? Because Cannes still treats the red steps like half the show. W’s opening-night roundup put Demi Moore in Jacquemus with Chopard jewelry, and the festival itself pushed photo and video from the “red steps” as part of the official opening package. That tells you the vibe right away — cinema is the reason everyone is there, but spectacle is how the festival announces itself to the world. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why was Demi Moore such a big part of the night? Moore wasn’t there as a random celebrity guest. She’s one of the jurors deciding the Palme d’Or this year, alongside a panel led by Park Chan-wook. That matters because opening-night photos of jurors at Cannes are never just fashion content — they’re also the introduction of the people who will shape the festival’s biggest prize. ### What’s the jury angle this year? (wmagazine.com) The competition jury is one of the real power centers at Cannes, and this one arrived with instant attention because of Park Chan-wook’s presidency and the political questions that always follow a high-profile international panel. The festival posted both the jury photocall and the press conference on May 12, which is basically Cannes saying: opening day is not only glamour, it’s also the start of the argument over what kind of cinema matters now. (festival-cannes.com) ### Was the early coverage wrong about the opening film? On the big point, yes. The official Cannes announcement from April named *La Vénus électrique* as the opening film for May 12, and the opening-night recap confirms that premiere happened. So if you saw previews framing *The Fast and the Furious* or *The Devils* as the opening-night centerpiece, that does not match the festival’s actual program for the ceremony itself. (festival-cannes.com) ### What else is Cannes signaling with this start? Basically, continuity. Cannes wants the first night to say three things at once: movie history matters, auteur cinema still matters, and the festival remains a giant image machine. You can see that in the official lineup rollout, the carefully staged jury reveal, and the immediate flood of red-carpet galleries. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why does this opening matter beyond fashion? Because opening night sets the frame for everything that follows. A strong Cannes opener tells buyers, critics, filmmakers, and streamers what kind of festival this will be. This year’s version looks like classic Cannes — prestige jury, French opening film, political undertone, and a carpet engineered to dominate photos for days. (festival-cannes.com) ### Bottom line? The clean read is this: Cannes opened on May 12 with *La Vénus électrique*, Eye Haïdara, and a jury led by Park Chan-wook. The hot red-carpet moments were real — but they were orbiting an actual festival launch, not replacing it. (festival-cannes.com)