Cannes Unveils 22 Must-See Films for 79th Festival as May 12 Opening Nears
Updated
Updated · Rolling Stone · May 11
Cannes Unveils 22 Must-See Films for 79th Festival as May 12 Opening Nears
4 articles · Updated · Rolling Stone · May 11
Twenty-two anticipated titles were highlighted ahead of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which begins May 12 with a lineup spanning competition, Un Certain Regard and Directors’ Fortnight.
The slate mixes auteur returns and star-heavy premieres, including Pedro Almodóvar’s “Bitter Christmas,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s first film in a decade “Her Private Hell,” Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales” and James Gray’s “Paper Tiger.”
Several projects stand out for unusual premises: Pawel Pawlikowski’s Thomas Mann road-trip biopic “Fatherland,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s feudal murder mystery “The Samurai and the Prisoner,” and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s android grief drama “Sheep in the Box.”
Big-name casts add to the buzz, with entries featuring Sebastian Stan, Rami Malek, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Adam Driver, Miles Teller, Scarlett Johansson and Léa Seydoux.
The preview underscores Cannes’ 2026 draw as both an awards-season launchpad and a showcase for documentaries, thrillers, period dramas and experimental auteur cinema.
As AI-driven micro-dramas boom, can Cannes' high-art cinema survive the film industry's new 'fast fashion' model?
With Hollywood's presence shrinking, is France's focus on 'soft power' and auteur financing creating a new global center for cinema?