Cannes 2026

The Cannes Film Festival is rightly regarded as a bastion of sophisticated film culture, yet on the Côte d’Azur there is a relaxed attitude towards American blockbusters. Long-time attendees will recall how George Lucas led a troop of galactic warriors down the red carpet.. Opening report by Peter Paul Huth

Two prominent directors have ventured into a foreign culture with their new films; one attempt went awry, while the other was a success. Peter Paul Huth on “Fatherland” by Paweł Pawlikowski and “Histoires parallèles” by Asghar Farhadi.

When festival director Thierry Frémaux was criticized at the press conference for the fact that only four female directors were represented in the competition, he rightly pointed to the numerous films featuring female protagonists. These include, among others, “La vie d'une femme” by Charline Bourgeois-Tocquet, ‘Soudain’ by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and “Nagi Notes” by Koji Fukada.

Continuing his report from Cannes, Peter Paul Huth discusses three highlights of the festival—or at least films that were expected to be highlights: “Sheep in the Box” by Hirokazu Kore-eda, “El ser querido” by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and “Paper Tiger” by James Gray.

Two films at Cannes focus on figures from the French Resistance during World War II: “Moulin” by László Nemes and “La troisième nuit” by Daniel Auteil. Critical remarks by Peter Paul Huth

New films by Andrej Svjagincev and Pedro Almodóvar in Cannes.

When you look back towards the end of the festival, you are struck by the abundance of queer affairs and relationships on the screen. At the start, there were more lesbian storylines; in the last few days, the focus has been on male protagonists.

Individualists with distinctive styles: Peter Paul Huth reviews the new films by Valeska Grisebach and Cristian Mungiu.

Die Preisverleihung in Cannes endete mit einer Überraschung. Paweł Pawlikowski mit „Fatherland“ und Ryusuke Hamaguchi mit „Soudain“ waren die Favoriten, die beim Ranking der Kritiker in Führung lagen, dicht gefolgt von Andrej Svjagincev mit „Minotaur“.

In his retrospect of the festival, Peter Paul Huth highlights, above all, the films in the Cannes Classics series.