After the announcement of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week yesterday, another lineup for the parallel Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section (or Quinzaine des cinéastes) has been announced.
The 2026 edition of the Directors’ Fortnight will kick off with “Butterfly Jam,” the English-language debut from Kantemir Balagov, best known for his acclaimed 2019 feature “Beanpole.” Set within a close-knit Circassian immigrant community in the United States, the film features a notable ensemble cast including Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough, Harry Melling, and Monica Bellucci.
Among the returning voices this year is Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude, who follows up last year’s “Dracula“ and “Kontinental ’25” with a rapid turnaround adaptation of Octave Mirbeau’s “The Diary of a Chambermaid,“ starring Ana Dumitrascu, Vincent Macaigne, and Mélanie Thierry. The eccentric Romanian filmmaker always has something exciting up his sleeve, and we can’t wait to see what it is this time.
Clio Barnard is the sole British representative in the lineup, bringing her latest film, “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning,“to Cannes. Marking her third time in competition at Directors’ Fortnight, the film adapts Keiran Goddard’s novel from a script by Enda Walsh, following five friends raised on a council estate starring young, rising stars Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack, and Lola Petticrew.
Argentine director Lisandro Alonso also returns to the Croisette with “Double Freedom,” nearly 25 years after his debut, “La Libertad,” premiered in Un Certain Regard. South Korean filmmaker July Jung makes her latest appearance with “Dora,“ starring Sakura Ando and Kim Doyeon. The story follows a young woman whose emotional and physical struggles begin to ease after she falls in love, continuing Jung’s steady presence at Cannes following “A Girl at My Door” and “Next Sohee.”
NEON is bringing its acclaimed Sundance documentary “Once Upon A Time In Harlem” by William Greaves and David Greaves to Cannes, along with the anticipated “Clarissa“ from Nigerian filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri. The modern-day reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel “Mrs Dalloway“ stars Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh, Ayo Edebiri, and Nikki Amuka-Bird.
Animation is also well represented this year, with three titles in the lineup. Among them, Quentin Dupieux’s 3D using motion-capture technology shot “Le Vertige“ will bring the section to a close, doubling as his second film at this year’s festival alongside his Midnight Screening entry “Full Phil,“ an absurdist comedy starring Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart.
QUINZAINE DES CINÉASTES
“9 Temples To Heaven” (dir. Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
“Atonement (L’Apaisement)” (dir. Reed Van Dyk)
“Butterfly Jam” (dir. Kantemir Balagov) – Opening Night Film
“Carmen, L’Oiseau Rebelle (Viva Carmen)” (dir. Sébastien Laudenbach)
“Clarissa” (dir. Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri)
“Death Has No Master (La Muerte No Tiene Dueño)” (dir. Jorge Thielen Armand)
“The Diary Of A Chambermaid (Le Journal D’une Femme De Chambre)” (dir. Radu Jude)
“Dora” (dir. July Jung)
“Double Freedom (La Libertad Doble)” (dir. Lisandro Alonso)
“Gabin” (dir. Maxence Voiseux)
“I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning” (dir. Clio Barnard)
“La Perra” (dir. Dominga Sotomayor)
“Le Vertige” (dir. Quentin Dupieux) – Closing Night Film
“Low Expectations (Lave Forventninger)” (dir. Eivind Landsvik)
“Thanks For Coming (Merci D’être Venu)” (dir. Alain Cavalier)
“Once Upon A Time In Harlem” (dir. William Greaves and David Greaves)
“Shana” (dir. Lila Pinell)
“Too Many Beasts (L’Espèce Explosive)” (dir. Sarah Arnold)
“We Are Aliens” (dir. Kohei Kadowaki)
SHORT FILMS
“À La Recherche De L’Oiseau Gris Aux Rayures Vertes (In Search Of The Grey Bird With Green Stripes)” (dir. Saïd Hamich Benlarbi)
“Daughters Of The Late Colonel” (dir. Elizabeth Hobbs)
“Eri” (dir. Yano Honami)
“Free Eliza (Notes On An Anatomical Imperfection)” (dir. Alexandra Matheou)
“Madrugada” (dir. Sebastián Lojo)
“Nothing Happens After Your Absence (لا شيءَ يحدثُ بعدَ غيابِكَ)” (dir. Ibrahim Omar)
“Oh Boys” (dir. Antonio Donato)
“Pithead” (dir. Wannes Vanspauwen and Pol De Plecker)
“The Joyless Economy” (dir. Marjorie Conrad)
The full lineup for the 2026 Cannes Film Festival can be seen here. The festival runs from May 12th until May 23rd.
Are you excited for the 2026 Cannes Film Festival? What do you think of the Directors’ Fortnight lineup? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Which films are you most looking forward to seeing? You can check out our reactions to the lineup here. Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.
