A flurry of A-Listers hit the red carpet at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès earlier this week as the 2026 Cannes Film Festival gets underway. We’ve found this year’s must-see films debuting in Cannes, so you can put your feet up, nibble on the popcorn and show off your arthouse movie knowledge.
This year sees Hollywood taking an unintentional step back from the festival, letting independent movies and smaller production companies have their moment. That being said, your fashion critique alter ego won’t be left dissatisfied as familiar faces, such as Monica Bellucci and Léa Seydoux, will still be gracing the red carpet in designer gowns we could only dream of to support their new projects.
Director: Léa Mysius
For those of you using the winter temperatures as an excuse to stay indoors and brush up on your French, Léa Mysius’s adaptation of Laurent Mauvignier’s thriller novel is an absolute must. Starring Monica Bellucci and Bastien Bouillon, the film is set in a rural French hamlet, telling the story of a French family planning their mother’s surprise 40th birthday party. Chaos ensues after three uninvited guests crash the festivities.
Credit: F Comme Film/France 3 Cinéma/Division/Beside Productions
Director: Ira Sachs
The Man I Love is set in late-1980s New York during the height of the AIDS crisis and follows Jimmy George (Rami Malek) as he suffers from the painful illness. George is a beloved entertainer navigating love, identity, and ambition within a vibrant underground music and arts scene. The story explores desire, self-expression, and the tension between who we are and who we present to the world.
Image credit: MK2
Starring French acting royalty Léa Seydouxand Catherine Deneuve, the drama follows two parallel plots set between Munich and the German countryside. Renowned concert pianist (Seydoux) puts her career on hold to support a husband who is struggling with burn out. Meanwhile, Elsa, a detective balancing her demanding work with caring for her father, who has dementia, is forced to confront her own limits of control and care. As their stories intertwine, both women are pushed to face uncomfortable truths about the men in their lives — and the quiet ways love and duty can become entangled.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Frederic Batier/Film AG
Director: Na Hong-Jin
South Korean director Na Hong-Jin is all it takes to get a gaggle of Hollywood starlets together for another career-defining film. Taylor Russell, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender come together in this Sci-Fi action thriller to tell the tale of the remote village of Hope Harbour. Set near the Korean Demilitarised Zone, the village reports a tiger sighting that throws the community into chaos. Delving into themes of fear and paranoia on a larger, more unsettling scale.
Picture credit: Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Another for all you France fanatics out there, All of a Sudden is set in the banlieues of Paris. The director of a nursing home attempts to introduce a new human care technique known as ‘hummanitude’ despite resistance from the medical community and without knowing its full potential.
Picturecredit: CineFrance
Director: Lukas Dhont
Amidst the violence and brutality of World War One the end of the war feels like an extremely unlikely reality. New arrival to the front line, Pierre, meets Francis, who relies on the joy of theatre to lift the spirits of his comrades.
Picture Credit: Aline Boyen
