Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Unveils Starry 2026 Lineup With Films By Kantemir Balagov; Clio Bernard; Esiri Brothers, Radu Jude, Reed Van Dyk & Quentin Dupieux

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Kantemir Balagov’s New Jersey-set play Butterfly Jam, starring Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough, will unfastened nan 58th version of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

It is among 19 features, selected from 1,800 submissions, and 9 short and medium-length useful announced connected Tuesday by nan parallel conception for its 2026 version moving from May 13 to 23, alongside nan Cannes Film Festival.

Butterfly Jam revolves astir a teen from increasing up successful New Jersey’s Circassian community, pinch dreams of becoming a wrestler, whose life takes an unexpected move erstwhile 1 of his father’s misguided schemes goes wrong.

It is exiled Russian head Balagov’s first English-language characteristic aft his 2019 Cannes breakout Beanpole.

It is produced by Alexander Rodnyansky’s AR Content, Pascal Caucheteux’s Why Not Productions (Emilia Pérez) and Goodfellas, which is besides handling sales.

Artistic Director Julien Rejl, and his squad person delivered 1 of nan astir high-profile and starriest Directors’ Fortnight selections since he took first took nan helm for nan 2023 edition.

Aside from Butterfly Jam, pinch Keoghan and Keough, nan lineup besides features Reed Van Dyk’s Iraqi warfare veteran play Atonement, pinch Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass and Boyd Holbrook; Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s ‘Mrs Dalloway-reimagining Clarissa pinch Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo and Ayo Edebiri, and July Jung’s Dora, starring Japanese character Sakura Ando (Shoplifters) and K-pop prima and character Kim Do-yeon.

Shot successful 35mm successful Nigeria, Clarissa is nan 2nd characteristic from nan Esiri brothers aft debut Eyimofe (This Is My Desire), which premiered successful Berlin and went connected to triumph 5 African Movie Academy Awards.

Neon acquired U.S. authorities to nan film earlier this twelvemonth and is besides handling world sales. It 1 of 2 Neon prebuys successful this year’s action alongside documentary Once Upon A Time In Harlem, which debuted successful Sundance this year. Read Deadline’s heavy dive into nan movie here.

Rejl, who marked his early editions pinch a desire to existent discoveries, that had not moreover been scouted up by improvement labs, appears to person changed his attack for this edition.

A number of established board person made nan trim this twelvemonth including Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning; Radu Jude’s The Diary of a Chambermaid; Alain Cavalier’s Thanks for Coming (Merci d’être venu); Lisandro Alonso’s Double Freedom, Quentin Dupieux‘s Le Vertige and Domingo Sotomayor’s La Perra.

Starring Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew and adapted from nan book of nan aforesaid sanction by Keiran Goddard, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning marks Bernard’s 3rd clip successful Ava & Ali and The Selfish Giant.

Cavalier’s Thanks for Coming (Merci d’être venu) continue his bid of useful documenting his life and thought connected filmmaking arsenic he ages, and could beryllium nan past activity of nan 94-year-old director.

Jude’s adjustment of Octave Mirbeau’s classical The Diary of a Chambermaid, starring Ana Dumitrascu alongside Vincent Macaigne and Mélanie Thierry, marks nan Romanian director’s first clip successful Cannes.

A precocious submission, Argentinian head Alonso’s caller movie is described arsenic a demi-remake of his 2001 breakthrough movie Freedom revisiting nan protagonist Misael successful a different clip of Argentina’s history.

There is still abstraction for first films successful nan section, which past twelvemonth debuted Iraqi play The President’s Cake, which went connected to triumph nan Cannes Caméra d’Or prize, unfastened to each first films playing crossed nan Official Selection and parallel sections, and past made it to nan short database successful nan International Feature Film class 98th Academy Awards arsenic Iraq’s submission.

Six first films are successful nan operation this twelvemonth including 9 Temples To Heaven by Thai head Sompot Chidgasornpongse, a long-time collaborator of Apichatpong Weerasethakul who antecedently took adjunct head credits connected Memoria and Cemetery of Splendour.

Other debuts see Atonement, Norwegian head Eivind Landsvik’s Low Expectations, French filmmaker Maxence Voiseux’s documentary Gabin, Swiss-Italian head Sarah Arnold’s Too Many Beasts and Japanese head Kohei Kadowaki’s We Are Aliens.

As antecedently announced, Directors’ Fortnight will fete Claire Denis will beryllium feted pinch nan honorary Golden Carriage (Carrosse d’Or) astatine nan opening ceremonial connected May 13.

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2026 Edition

Feature Films

(*denotes first movie and eligibility for Caméra d’Or)

Butterfly Jam (opening film)
Dir: Kantemir Balagov

9 Temples To Heaven *
Dir: Sompot Chidgasornpongse

Atonement *
Dir: Reed Van Dyk

Clarissa
Dirs: Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri

Death has nary master (La muerte nary tiene dueño)
Dir: Jorge Thielen Armand

The Diary of a Chambermaid
Dir: Radu Jude

Dora
Dir: July Jung

Double Freedom (La libertad doble)
Dir: Lisandro Alonso

Gabin * – documentary
Dir: Maxence Voiseux