Following last week’s unveiling of the main sections of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, we now have the lineups for three sidebars. First up and most notably, Directors’ Fortnight has revealed its promising lineup, which includes Kantemir Balagov’s Butterfly Jam, starring Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough, Radu Jude’s Diary of a Chambermaid, Lisandro Alonso’s Double Freedom (La libertad doble), Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Dominga Sotomayor’s La Perra, and more. The best film from Sundance, William Greaves & David Greaves’ Once Upon A Time In Harlem, is also among the lineup.
“Under the bucolic and pastoral gaze of Alain Guiraudie, the 58th edition of the Directors’ Fortnight presents 19 feature films and 9 short films as part of our new selection,” said Artistic Director Julien Rejl. “We will be presenting works from 19 countries on five continents, with notable contributions from a number of countries with little or no international exposure, such as Nigeria, Sudan, Guatemala, Venezuela and Cyprus. We are delighted by the significant presence of documentaries (3 features and 2 shorts) and animation (3 features and 2 shorts as well), showcasing highly distinctive works that demonstrate the exceptional richness and vitality of both forms.”
He adds, “The 2026 selection brings together established filmmakers, emerging voices (including 6 debut features), and directors whose artistic voices are still taking shape. Finally, we are honored to host a special event: the premiere of Alain Cavalier’s latest film. He was among the pioneering discoverers of new films and talents at the start of the Fortnight. We are extremely proud to present the final installment of his filmed diary. Welcome aboard Directors’ Fortnight’s journey around the world!”
See the lineup below.
Directors’ Fortnight 2026
Features
Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov) (opening film)
9 Temples To Heaven (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
Atonement (Reed Van Dyk)
Clarissa (Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri)
Death has no master (La muerte no tiene dueño) (Jorge Thielen Armand)
The Diary of a Chambermaid (Radu Jude)
Dora (July Jung)
Double Freedom (La libertad doble) (Lisandro Alonso)
Gabin (Maxence Voiseux)
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning (Clio Barnard)
Low Expectations (Lave Forventninger) (Eivind Landsvik)
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (William Greaves & David Greaves)
La Perra (Dominga Sotomayor)
Shana (Lila Pinell)
Thanks for Coming (Merci d’être venu) (Alain Cavalier)
Too Many Beasts (l’Espèce Explosive) (Sarah Arnold)
Viva Carmen (Carmen, L’Oiseau Rebel) (Sebastian Laundenbach)
We Are Aliens (Kohei Kadowaki)
Le Vertige (Quentin Dupieux) (closing film)
Short and Medium-Length Films
The Joyless Economy (Marjorie Conrad)
Oh Boys (Antonio Donato)
Early Morning (Sebastián Lojo)
Eri (Yano Honami)
Pithead (Wannes Vanspauwen & Pol De Plecker)
The Daughters Of The Late Colonel (Elizabeth Hobbs)
Nothing Happens After Your Absence (Ibrahim Omar)
Free Eliza (Notes On An Anatomical Imperfection) (Alexandra Matheou)
In Search of the Green-striped Bird (Saïd Hamich Benlarb)
Critics’ Week 2026
Competition
Alive (Aina Clotet)
Dua (Blerta Basholli)
A Girl Unknown (Zou Jing)
La Gradiva (Marine Atlan)
Six Months In A Pink And Blue Building (Bruno Santamaría Razo)
The Station (Sara Ishaq)
Tin Castle (Alexander Murphy)
Special Screenings
In Waves (Phuong Mai Nguyen) (opening film)
Stonewall (Julien Gaspar-Oliveri)
Flesh and Fuel (Pierre Le Gall)
Adieu monde cruel (Félix de Givry) (closing film)
ACID
A Secret Heart (Cœur Secret) (Tom Fontenille)
Blaise (Dimitri Planchon & Jean-Paul Guigue)
Born Under A Bad Star (Mauvaise Étoile) (Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier)
Dans La Gueule de L’Ogre (Mahsa Karampour)
Detention (La Détention) (Guillaume Massart)
Living Twice, Dying Thrice (Karim Lakzadeh)
Promised Space (Ivan Marković)
Rewind Barcelona (Barça Zou) (Paul Nouhet)
Summer Drift (Virages) (Céline Carridroit & Aline Suter)