Cannes highlights as film festival wraps up
The Cannes Film Festival wraps up Saturday with its traditional awards ceremony after two action-packed weeks of world premieres, star-studded red carpets, parties and fashion shows. AFP looks back on some of the highlights:
- 'Fast' emotions -
Although there was no Hollywood blockbuster launch in Cannes and some festival-goers reported fewer American film execs in town than usual, the cast of the original "The Fast and the Furious" provided some US sparkle.
Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster and the daughter of late co-star Paul Walker reunited for a midnight screening to mark 25 years since the car-racing blockbuster, with their smiles, tears and tributes to Walker providing a moment of raw emotion in the packed main cinema.
- Ovation clockwatch -
Standing ovations at premieres are a serious and competitive business in Cannes, with reporters timing them as an indicator of how well a film has been received.
This year's winner appeared to be Spain's "La Bola Negra" ("The Black Ball"), a sprawling gay-themed drama set partly during the country's civil war, that was awarded a hand-aching 16-minute round of applause on Thursday, according to industry title Variety.
- Bardem unfiltered -
Spanish superstar Javier Bardem, many people's tip for the Cannes best actor award for his turn in "The Beloved" by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, is known as one of the industry's most outspoken figures on issues from Gaza to violence against women.
In an expletive-laden outburst at a press conference on Sunday, he slammed the "toxic masculinity" of US, Russian and Israeli leaders Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu and accused them of being obsessed with the size of their manhoods.
- Travolta honoured -
Plane-mad John Travolta showed his directorial debut in Cannes with "Propeller One-Way Night Coach", a largely forgettable personal project based on his memories of his first flight on an airliner as an eight-year-old.
His genuine surprise and gratitude when he was honoured with a Cannes lifetime achievement award -- perhaps making up for the fact that he has never won an Oscar? -- was memorable for all those present.
- Red carpet -
Demi Moore fully embraced the vibe of her Oscar-nominated role in "The Substance" to push the boundaries of what a 63-year-old woman can look wonderful in, from a silvery Jacquemus bustier dress on opening night to figure-hugging sheer lavender Gucci gown.
Supermodel Bella Hadid arrived in a show-stopping Schiaparelli dress at the premiere of the Charles de Gaulle biopic "De Gaulle: Tilting Iron".
- AI debate -
The film industry remains opposed to artificial intelligence on the whole, fearful of its potential to kill off jobs for animators, scriptwriters and eventually actors.
"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, a special effects specialist, struck a dissonant note by saying that AI was "going to destroy the world" but when it came to film "I don't dislike it at all".
- Buzzy titles -
Every year in Cannes, a few titles emerge with rave reviews and an unexpected buzz around their directors.
"Club Kid" about a New York party promoter by first-time director Jordan Firstman landed a $17-million deal with top studio A24, while genre-defying comedy-horror "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma" by Jane Schoenbrun wowed many critics.
- A Russian returns -
For lovers of independent Russian cinema, which has been stifled since the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the sight of director Andrey Zvyagintsev walking the red carpet was a cause for celebration.
The "Leviathan" director nearly died during the Covid pandemic and now lives in exile in France, but his ability to tell a story with rare subtlety and beauty remains undimmed, with his "Minotaur" a frontrunner for the best film prize.
- Ball skills -
Football and arthouse movies rarely mix, but French legend Eric Cantona has helped build bridges between the two since hanging up his playing boots at Manchester United and embarking on an acting career.
The enigmatic striker appeared in a movie, "Les Matins merveilleux" ("Marvellous Mornings"), and was the subject of an entertaining documentary "Cantona" that sees him explore the "demons" that made him such a combustible player.
- Live music -
One of the joys of Cannes is seeing sometimes little-known directors from across the globe finding themselves on one of the biggest cinema stages on the planet.
This year's edition featured a rousing first film about the war-torn Central African Republic -- "Congo Boy" -- with its nerveless director Rafiki Fariala showcasing the catchy soundtrack he wrote by breaking into song at the end of the premiere.
Red Carpet @ Cannes Film Festival pic.twitter.com/jwW0h4yKrj
— (✿◠‿◠) (@thetradingchick) May 22, 2026
Movies vying for top prize
Twenty-two films from some of the world's most celebrated directors are vying for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, which will be handed out on Saturday.
The award will be decided by a jury headed by South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, which includes Hollywood star Demi Moore and Oscar-winning "Hamnet" and "Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao.
'Minotaur' by Andrey Zvyagintsev
The first film in nine years from the acclaimed and exiled Russian filmmaker is one of the frontrunners, with its intimate plot of an unhappy couple set against the ominous background of Russia's war against Ukraine.
'A Man of His Time' by Emmanuel Marre
The clear favourite with French critics, this story of an ambitious local official during the Nazi occupation features a memorable dance scene and a virtuoso performance by lead actor Swann Arlaud.
'The Black Ball' by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
This big-budget, sprawling Spanish historical film exploring gay lives stars Penelope Cruz, and got a 20-minute standing ovation at its premiere, the longest this year.
'Paper Tiger' by James Gray
The American director of "The Yards" and "Little Odessa" returns to familiar territory, his Queens neighbourhood in New York, for this atmospheric crime drama about two brothers tangling with the Russian mafia, with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.
'Fatherland' by Pawel Pawlikowski
An arty critics' darling, the black-and-white movie from the Polish director features a searing performance from German actress Sandra Huller as the conflicted daughter of German writer Thomas Mann as they return to their war-shattered homeland in 1949.
'Fjord' by Cristian Mungiu
The Romanian winner of the 2007 Palme d'Or has made one of the most hotly debated films of the festival, casting a critical lens on well-meaning left-wingers and their prejudices through a story about a devout Christian family in Norway.
'The Beloved' by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Hailed by some as Javier Bardem's best-ever performance, he plays a film director who tries to rekindle his relationship with his estranged actress daughter on a troubled shoot.
'All of a Sudden' by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
After the worldwide success of "Drive My Car", the Japanese filmmaker returns with a slow but touching film about a nursing home worker, played by Virginie Efira, who befriends a dying Japanese playwright.
'Hope' by Na Hong-jin
A wild ride for audiences, this relentless blood-splattered action thriller -- the most expensive movie in South Korean history -- features terrifying aliens, a lot of automatic gunfire and a surprising number of jokes.
'Moulin' by Laszlo Nemes
One of several historical dramas, Hungarian Oscar winner Nemes's film focuses on the final days of French Resistance hero Jean Moulin, who was tortured to death by Nazi interrogators, its chilling story revealing "the best and worst" of humanity.
'The Man I Love' by Ira Sachs
"Bohemian Rhapsody" star Rami Malek returns as another gay musician in this melancholy story about a performer in New York in the 1980s, based on the memories of director Sachs, who lived through the AIDS pandemic in the city.
'The Unknown' by Arthur Harari
It didn't convince everyone, but this tale of a man who wakes up in the body of a woman he has had sex with -- from the writer of the Oscar winner "Anatomy of a Fall" -- has one of the most ambitious and quirky plotlines in Cannes.
'Sheep in the Box' by Hirokazu Kore-eda
There were high hopes for this drama about a couple in mourning who welcome an AI-powered humanoid robot into their home, but the Japanese auteur -- who won the Palme d'Or in 2018 for "Shoplifters" -- got mixed reviews this time.
'A Woman's Life' by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
Lea Drucker -- one of France's most accomplished actresses -- drew praise for her portrayal of a stressed-out surgeon whose life is transformed by an encounter with a novelist in this tale about female desire in middle age.
'Coward' by Lukas Dhont
Another gay romance story from the highly-rated young Belgian director of "Girl" and "Close", it tells of two soldiers in the trenches of World War I who find passion and love amid the horror.
'Bitter Christmas' by Pedro Almodovar
The veteran Spanish director looks unlikely to win the Palme d'Or at his seventh attempt with this movie about a filmmaker who is out of ideas with such strong competition this year.
'Parallel Tales' by Asghar Farhadi
Directing a French-language movie for the first time, the Oscar-winning Iranian director assembled a stellar cast of local stars but lost many viewers with a convoluted plot about voyeurism and art in Paris.
'Another Day' ('Garance') by Jeanne Herry
Cannes favourite Adele Exarchopoulos plays a gifted but hard-partying actress in this French story about alcohol addiction that loses momentum for some viewers in its second half.
'Nagi Notes' by Koji Fukada
A gentle and slow-moving story -- too slow for many critics -- about an architect who visits a sculptor in the Japanese countryside, spotlights the difficulties for LGBTQ+ people in rural areas.
'Gentle Monster' by Marie Kreutzer
The Austrian director brings together French actors Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve -- who feature in two films in competition -- in a story about child abuse allegations that tear a marriage apart.
'The Birthday Party' by Lea Mysius
A well-made but conventional thriller from a rising French director, featuring Italy's Monica Bellucci alongside French stars Bastien Bouillon and Hafsia Herzi.
'The Dreamed Adventure' by Valeska Grisebach
The German director of "Western" makes her main competition debut with the story of a woman in the border region between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey who agrees to a deal to help a friend.