©Courtesy of The Cannes Film Festival’s official site

When Thierry Frémaux faced the prospect of Cannes without Hollywood films – he was waiting for Steven Spielberg‘s “Disclosure Day,” which Universal chose to exclude – he knew that while the usual festival dates would produce many excellent films, they might not have a significant impact across the Atlantic.

The Croisette is a place where studio movies are accompanied by stars on the red carpet, parties, and marketing junkets. This year, it’s not the same. The competition consisted of James Gray‘s highly acclaimed “Paper Tiger” (Neon) and Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love“, both of which drew Adam Driver, Miles Teller, and Rami Malek to the red carpet, but were unable to win anything at the closing

Although it received mixed reviews, “Fjord” was the winner of Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. The drama, despite critical disapproval, captivates with its exploration of the most debated topics. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve portray an evangelical couple who moved from Romania to Norway. Accused of child abuse, they are slapped on the children to discipline them, despite this being seen as normal behavior in their faith. The film turns into a discussion about Christianity and secularism, conservative tradition, and progressive liberalism. It’s a certainty that Academy members will be talking and voting.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Drive My Car” (2021) won the best international feature film Oscar in 2022, and it was nominated for best picture. Hamaguchi’s deeply humane and tender new drama could do almost as well. Most of the story takes place in Paris, where Virginia Efira, the director of a nursing home, interacts with Tao Okamoto, a Japanese playwright battling terminal cancer. Actress Tao Okamoto won the Best Actress along with Virginie Efira.

Cannes Film Festival 2026 Award Winners.

Palme d’Or: “Fjord,” Cristian Mungiu

Grand Prix: “Minotaur,” Andrey Zvyagintsev

Jury Prize: “The Dreamed Adventure,” Valeska Grisebach

Best Director: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “The Black Ball”; Pawel Pawlikowski, “Fatherland”

Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, “All of a Sudden”

Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, “Coward”

Best Screenplay: “A Man of His Time,” Emmanuel Marre

Camera d’Or for Best First Feature: “Ben’imana,” Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Short Film Palme d’Or: “Para Los Contrincantes,” Federico Luis