This year’s Cannes Film Festival was an interesting one, heading in as the absence of American films or big blockbusters had some skeptics about how the lineup would be perceived. Turns out, those people had nothing to worry about as Cannes continued to provide cinephiles with a wide range of films from slow cinema, international cinema, two American films in competition, and even a South Korean sci-fi action blockbuster. Many have been wondering which film would walk away with the Palme d’Or this year, as NEON has been on a six-year streak since winning the Palme d’Or in 2019 with “Parasite” and Park Chan-wook’s jury containing an eclectic, wide taste that could embrace a genre-heavy film as much as a meditative drama. Many on the ground were feeling it would come down to Rysuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s “The Black Ball,” or Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland.” That’s one NEON film, two MUBI, and one still seeking distribution.
As we do every year at Next Best Picture, we view the Cannes Film Awards as the first official precursor for this year’s awards season. Of the last six Palme d’Or winners (all NEON titles, by the way), four of them went on to receive a Best Picture nomination, with “Parasite” and “Anora” winning the Academy’s top prize. Will that happen again this year?
This year’s In Competition included “All of a Sudden,” “Another Day,” “The Beloved,” “The Birthday Party,” “Bitter Christmas,” “The Black Ball,” “Coward,” “The Dreamed Adventure,” “Fatherland,” “Fjord,” “Gentle Monster,” “Hope,” “A Man of His Time,” “The Man I Love,” “Minotaur,” “Moulin,” “Nagi Notes,” “Paper Tiger,” “Parallel Tales,” “Sheep in the Box,” “The Unknown,” “A Woman’s Life.”
The jury selecting the winners for this year’s In Competition awards included Jury President Park Chan-wook (“No Other Choice“), Chilean filmmaker Diego Céspedes (“The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo“), Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankolé (“The Brutalist“), Irish-Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty (“Sorry We Missed You“), American actress Demi Moore (“The Substance“), Ethiopian-Irish actress Ruth Negga (“Passing“), Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value“), Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel (“Adam’s Interest“), and Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao (“Hamnet“).
Here’s what won the awards at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival…
In Competition
Palme d’Or: “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix: “Minotaur” by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: “The Dreamed Adventure” by Valeska Grisebach
Best Director: Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo for “The Black Ball” & Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland” (TIE)
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for “All of a Sudden”
Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for “Coward”
Best Screenplay: “A Man of His Time” by Emmanuel Marre
Prix Spécial: “Resurrection” by Bi Gan
Honorary Palme d’Or
Peter Jackson
Barbara Streisand
John Travolta
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize: “Everytime” by Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize: “Elephants in the Fog” by Abinash Bikram Shah
Special Jury Prize: “Iron Boy” by Louis Clichy
Best Actress: Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira and Mariangel Villegas for “Forever Your Maternal Animal”
Best Actor: Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for “Congo Boy“
Caméra d’Or
Caméra d’Or: “Ben’Imana” by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
Cinéfondation
First Prize: “Laser-Cat” by Lucas Acher (NYC, United States)
Second Prize: “Silent Voices” by Nadine Misong Jin (Columbia University, United States)
Third Prize: “Never Enough” by Julius Lagoutte Larsen (La Fémis, France), “Growing Stones, Flying Papers” by Roozbeh Gezerseh and Soraya Shamsi (Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg, Germany)
Immersive Competition
“Katábasis” by Ugo Arsac
Special Mention: “The Black Mirror Experience” by David Bardos and Damià Ferràndiz
FIPRESCI Prize
In Competition: “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu
Un Certain Regard: “Ben’Imana” by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
Parallel sections (first features): “A Girl Unknown” by Zou Jing
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
Prix du Jury Œcuménique: by “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu
Critics’ Week
Grand Prize: “La Gradiva” by Marine Atlan
Rising Star Award: Aina Clotet for “Alive”
Award for Distribution: “A Girl Unknown” by Zou Jing (Pyramide Distribution)
SACD Award: Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat for “Dua”
Canal+ Award for Short Film: “Vaterland” or a Bule Named Yanto by Berthold Wahjudi
Discovery Prize for Short Film: “Skinny Boots” by Romain F. Dubois
Directors’ Fortnight
Audience Award: “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning” by Clio Barnard
Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: “Too Many Beasts” by Sarah Arnold
SACD Prize for Best French Film: “Shana” by Shana Pinell
Carrosse d’Or: Claire Denis
L’Œil d’or
Golden Eye: “Rehearsals for a Revolution” by Pegah Ahangarani
Special Jury Prize: “Tin Castle” by Alexander Murphy
Queer Palm
Best Film: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” by Jane Schoenbrun
Discovery Prize: “Flesh and Fuel” by Pierre Le Gall
Best Short Film: “Silent Voices” by Nadine Misong Jin
Cannes Soundtrack Award
Cannes Soundtrack Award: Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine for “Minotaur”
Prix François Chalais
François Chalais Prize: “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu
Prix de la Citoyenneté
Citizenship Prize: “Fjord” by Cristian Mungiu
Special Mention: “A Man of His Time” by Emmanuel Marre
Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai
AFCAE Art House Cinema Award: “A Man of His Time” by Emmanuel Marre
Prix du Cinéma Positif
Positive Cinema Prize: “Coward” by Lukas Dhont
Palm Dog
Palm Dog Award: Yuri for “La Perra”
Grand Jury Prize: Lola for “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning”
Trophée Chopard
Male Revelation of the Year: Connor Swindells
Female Revelation of the Year: Odessa A’zion
What do you think of the winners? Which of these films are you most looking forward to seeing? Do you think any of these will be in contention for an Oscar nomination later this year? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
