As previously announced, the Jury of the 79th Festival de Cannes will be chaired by South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook. He will be joined by American actress and producer Demi Moore, Irish-Ethiopian actress and producer Ruth Negga, Belgian director and screenwriter Laura Wandel, Chinese director and screenwriter Chloé Zhao, Chilean director and screenwriter Diego Céspedes, Ivorian-American actor Isaach De Bankolé, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
The Jury will have the honor of awarding the Palme d’or to one of the 22 films in Competition, after Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” presented by Juliette Binoche’s Jury, in 2025. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 23rd at the Closing Ceremony, broadcast live by France Télévisions in France and by Brut. internationally.
PARK CHAN-WOOK – President
Director, screenwriter & producer – South Korea
Visceral, subversive, baroque – Park Chan-wook’s cinema is defined by boldness in every sense: in its storytelling, its style, and its moral stance. Yet he never strays from a symbolic social message or from his audience, whom he immerses in dark and unsettling worlds for journeys that are by turns terrifying, exhilarating, erotic… or all at once. It all began at Cannes with “Oldboy,” which won the Grand Prix in 2004. Since then, nearly all of his selections in the Competition have earned him a place on the list of winners: “Thirst” (Jury Prize 2009), “The Handmaiden” (2016), “Decision to Leave” (Best Director Award in 2022). Developing a body of work permeated by revenge with the trilogy – “Sympathy for Mister Vengeance,” “Oldboy,” and “Lady Vengeance,” and by the influence of Hitchcock – perceptible in “Stoker” (2013) through to his recent “No Other Choice” (2025) – his work embodies the DNA of contemporary Korean cinema: unconstrained by conventions, audience-oriented, ambitious and deliberately provocative, sophisticated without being overly intellectual.
DEMI MOORE
Actress & producer – United States
Academy Award–nominated actress, producer, and New York Times best-selling author, Demi Moore recently starred in “The Substance” (Best Screenplay Award, Festival de Cannes 2024), directed by Coralie Fargeat. Her performance earned her Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics Choice wins, along with BAFTA and Academy Award nominations. She most recently returned for season two of Paramount+’s hit series “Landman,” which has been renewed for a third season. She will next appear in Neon’s “I Love Boosters,” directed by Boots Riley, which has already garnered rave early reviews, and is set to star in “Strange Arrivals” from Roger Ross Williams alongside Colman Domingo. Moore previously appeared in the second season of “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” and is widely known for iconic performances in “Ghost,” “A Few Good Men,” “Indecent Proposal,” and “G.I. Jane.”
RUTH NEGGA
Actress & producer – Ireland / Ethiopia
Ruth Negga received an Academy Award nomination for her masterful performance in Jeff Nichols’ “Loving” (Competition, 2016 Festival de Cannes) earning her several nominations. Born in Ethiopia then raised in Ireland and England, she notably established herself in theatre: first receiving a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for “Duck,” originating the titular role in a production of “Hamlet” in Dublin and New York, and later garnering a Tony nomination for “Macbeth.” Ruth’s film credits include Rebecca Hall’s “Passing,” acquiring a Golden Globe nomination and Independent Spirit Award. Her television credits include “Presumed Innocent,” for which she received an Emmy Award nomination, “Preacher,” which she starred and was a co-EP and numerous projects that garnered her Emmy, BAFTA, Irish Film & Television Awards.
LAURA WANDEL
Director & screenwriter – Belgium
Belgian screenwriter and director Laura Wandel trained at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD). She made her debut in 2010 by co-directing the short film “O Negative” with Gaëtan D’Agostino, before directing “Foreign Bodies” on her own, selected in Competition in the Festival de Cannes’ short films category in 2014. She returned to Cannes in 2021 with her first feature film, “Playground,” which was part of the Un Certain Regard section and won the FIPRESCI Award. The film was also shortlisted for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film and won seven Awards at the Magritte du Cinéma. Staying true to a realistic and immersive approach, she then directed “Adam’s Sake” (2025), starring Léa Drucker, which was developed at La Résidence of the Festival de Cannes and selected to open the Semaine de la Critique. She is currently working on her next feature film.
CHLOÉ ZHAO
Director, screenwriter, editor & producer – China
Chloé Zhao is a Beijing-born writer, director, editor, and producer who has made her mark on the history of world cinema. She directed her debut film, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015), which garnered attention at festivals such as Sundance and Cannes, and followed that up two years later, with “The Rider,” which achieved widespread acclaim. She then directed the Searchlight film “Nomadland” in 2021 – winning two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director – and the feature film “Eternals” for Marvel Studios. In 2025, she received a number of awards for “Hamnet” (including Best Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes and Outstanding British Film at the BAFTAs) and became only the second woman to be nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Director. She launched the production company Book of Shadows in 2023 and Kodansha Studios in 2025.
DIEGO CÉSPEDES
Director & screenwriter – Chile
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2025 Festival de Cannes for his debut feature, “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” developed at La Cinef, Diego Céspedes is one of the most distinctive emerging voices in Latin American cinema, crafting intimate and politically resonant stories around desire, identity and chosen families. “The Summer of the Electric Lion” (2018) won the Cinéfondation First Prize at Cannes, while “The Melting Creatures” (2022) premiered at the Semaine de la Critique. His work has also screened at major festivals including San Sebastián, Sundance and Toronto, and has received awards and selections at leading international festivals. Blending the fantastical with the everyday, his films explore marginal spaces and emotional communities with a singular visual language. He is currently developing his second feature film, “The Case of a Boy Who Lost His Heart.”
ISAACH DE BANKOLÉ
Actor – Ivory Coast / United States
An international actor soon to be seen in the highly anticipated “Dune: Part Three” by Denis Villeneuve, Isaach De Bankolé began his career in France, notably in film – with “Black Mic-Mac” (1987), which earned him the César Award for Most Promising Actor, and through a longstanding collaboration with Claire Denis (“Chocolat,” Competition, Festival de Cannes 1988), “No Fear, No Die” (1992), “White Material” (2010) and recently “The Fence,” the adaptation of the play “Black Battle” with Dogs by Bernard-Marie Koltès – as well as in theater, where he worked with Patrice Chéreau. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, he appeared in “Night on Earth” (1991), marking the beginning of a creative partnership that continued with “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” (Competition, Festival de Cannes 1999), “Coffee and Cigarettes” (2003), and “The Limits of Control” (2009). He later appeared in two major blockbusters, “Casino Royale” and “Miami Vice.” He has been seen in “Black Panther” (2018 & 2022) by Ryan Coogler, and more recently in “Muganga: The One Who Treats” by Marie-Hélène Roux, and “The Brutalist” by Brady Corbet.
PAUL LAVERTY
Screenwriter – Scotland
Paul Laverty has worked with Ken Loach and producer Rebecca O’Brien for 30 years and wrote the two Palme d’or, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” (2006) and “I, Daniel Blake” (2016). He also won best screenplay awards at the following festivals: Festival de Cannes for “Sweet Sixteen” (2002), Venice International Film Festival for “It’s a Free World!” (2007), San Sebastián Film Festival for “Yuli” (2018). He has written 14 films for the director, 11 selected for the Official Competition of the Festival de Cannes, including “My Name is Joe,” “Looking for Eric,” “The Angels’Share,” and “The Old Oak.” He also works closely with Spanish director Icíar Bollaín. They made “Even the Rain,” winner of the Panorama Audience Award in Berlin and shortlisted for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2012), “El olivo” (2016) and “Yuli” (2018).
STELLAN SKARSGÅRD
Actor – Sweden
Stellan Skarsgård is a highly esteemed, Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA and Academy Award nominated Swedish actor. Known for his versatility, Skarsgård shifts between his work in television, indie dramas, historical epics, and fantasy blockbusters. Most recently, Skarsgård can be seen in the Academy Award-winning film, “Sentimental Value” directed by Joachim Trier (Grand Prix, 2025 Festival de Cannes), for which Skarsgård was also nominated. Skarsgård first gained international attention with “Breaking the Waves” (Grand Prix, 1996 Festival de Cannes) and went on to deliver critically praised performances in film and television: “Good Will Hunting,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Melancholia” (Competition, 2011 Festival de Cannes), the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Thor” and “The Avengers,” HBO’s “Chernobyl.” His continued presence in major projects like “Dune: Part Two” and the Star Wars series “Andor” further cements himself as a respected figure in entertainment today.
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival will run from May 12th until May 23rd. Cody Dericks, Nadia Dalimonte and I will be attending in-person this year from Next Best Picture.
Are you excited for the 2026 Cannes Film Festival? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? What do you think of this announcement? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.
