Wednesday, May 20Wednesday, May 20The 79th Cannes Film Festival officially opened on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, marking the start of a 12-day event culminating in the awarding of the Palme d’Or on 23 May. The festival’s opening ceremony was hosted by actors Jane Fonda and Gong Li, with Peter Jackson receiving an honorary Palme d’Or for his contributions to cinema, including *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy. The award was presented by Elijah Wood, who played Frodo in Jackson’s films .
The first two films in competition were **Japan’s *Nagi Notes* and France’s *La Vie d’une Femme*, starring Léa Drucker**. Other notable attendees on opening day included the cast of *Fast & Furious* and director Peter Jackson, whose presence generated significant buzz .
The festival’s red carpet operates under a strict hierarchy: celebrities arrive by car, while guests and industry professionals enter on foot, with access determined by badge status . The event remains a global hub for cinema, described as a "beautiful, grueling circus" that blends artistic celebration with a high-pressure industry marketplace. Founded in 1939 as a counter to Mussolini’s Venice Film Festival, Cannes has maintained its reputation as a bastion of creative freedom, despite criticisms of commercialization .
Greece made a strong showing at the festival, with filmmakers and producers participating across multiple sections, including parallel market events . Meanwhile, Demi Moore addressed the rise of AI in filmmaking during opening-day discussions, reflecting broader industry debates .
Political tensions surfaced early, with jury member Paul Laverty condemning Hollywood’s alleged boycott of actors who have spoken out against the Gaza war . Additionally, 600 film industry figures published an open letter protesting the influence of French media tycoon Vincent Bolloré, whose conservative-leaning empire (including Canal+) has raised concerns about creative freedom in French cinema .
> Background: [**Cannes 2026 Opens with Glamour Comebacks and Political Tensions in Cinema
Alternative options if preferred
More LFE coverage on this topic
79th Cannes Film Festival: Inside the making of the prestigious Palme dOr The 79th Cannes Film Festival launched on Tuesday, marking the start of 12 days of nonstop premieres that will culminate May 23 with the centrepiece that every director is hoping to take home: the prestigious Palme dOr. As the festivities in the south of France get underway, we take a look at how the most coveted prize at the Cannes Festival is made.
france24 · 8 days ago
Who walks the red carpet at Cannes? 🎞️ Who really walks the steps at Cannes Film Festival?Not just the stars and not on the same carpet! 🚕Celebrities arrive by car, guests on foot, and badges decide everything. At Cannes, even the red carpet has a hierarchy.
france24 · 8 days ago
Cannes, i film e gli ospiti di oggi da Peter Jackson al cast di Fast & Furious I primi due film in concorso sono: il giapponese Nagi notes e il francese La vie dune femme con Léa Drucker
corriere · 8 days ago
Cannes is a beautiful, gruelling circus. I wouldnt quit it for anything | Agnès Poirier The festival is a celebration of cinema and a frantic trade show all at once. After 25 years, I cant help but go backNothing prepares you for the shock that is the Cannes film festival: the adrenaline, the fatigue, the elation and the emotion, but also the hunger, the anger, the magic and the ridicule. For young cinephiles, and for almost everybody who works in the film industry, it is the mecca of cinema and has been so for nearly eight decades. Anyone going for the first time this week, as I did 25 years ago, should not listen to the old grognards – Cannes battle-worn veterans – who will lament that the festival has become an abominable circus and swear this year will be their last. It is a circus, and you can bet they will be back for as long as their knees can take it. For there is nothing quite like it.Born to counteract Benito Mussolinis Venice film festival, its first edition was planned for September 1939, but Adolf Hitler had other plans. The previous year, under pressure from Berlin and Rome, the Venice film festivals top prize, the Coppa Mussolini, was handed to Leni Riefenstahls propaganda film Olympia, prompting the French, British and American delegates to walk out. Hence Cannes, conceived as the festival of the free world. More than 80 years later, for all its sins, it has remained faithful to that founding promise.Agnès Poirier is a political commentator, writer and critic for the British, American and European press Continue reading...
theguardian · 8 days ago
Greece Makes Strong Presence at Cannes Film Festival 2026 With New Films and Rising Directors Greece is set to make a strong showing at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, with filmmakers, producers, and industry representatives participating across several sections of the festival and its parallel market events. The festival opened on Tuesday night on the French Riviera with the world premiere of La Venus Electrique by French […]
greek reporter · 8 days ago
Peter Jackson honoured, Demi Moore on AI: inside Cannes opening day The 79th Cannes Film Festival is officially underway, and France 24 is live from the Croisette for its very first Cannes 2026 special. Join Culture Editor Eve Jackson and Film Critic Emma Jones as they break down the biggest moments from opening night: the honorary Palme dOr presented to Peter Jackson, the arrival of Hollywood stars on the red carpet, and the films already creating buzz on the Croisette.
france24 · 8 days ago
Cannes juror denounces Hollywood boycott of actors for Gaza war views 2026 Cannes Film Festival juror Paul Laverty denounced Hollywood for boycotting actors whove opposed the Gaza war.
aljazeera · 8 days ago
Zapper Bolloré: Publishing protest spreads to French cinema at Cannes On the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival, 600 leading figures from the film industry have published an opinion piece condemning the growing influence of the conservative billionaire on the industry, from Canal+ to Grasset, and warning of a threat to creative freedom.
euronews · 8 days ago
American actor Jane Fonda and Chinese star Gong Li open 2026 Cannes Film Festival The 2026 Cannes Film Festival began on Tuesday with actors Jane Fonda and Gong Li presenting the opening ceremony, and New Zealands Peter Jackson, who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, receiving an honorary Palme dOr award for his career.
france24 · 8 days ago
Cannes 2026: apre il festival con Jane Fonda e Gong Li. Premiato Peter Jackson da Frodo Wood Al via la serata inaugurale condotta dalla comica francese di origine Eye Haïdara
corriere · 8 days ago
Live is the new status symbol: can New Yorks C2C beat festival burnout by embracing the niche? With performers Arca, Los Thuthanaka and YHWH Nailgun, New Yorks C2C proved the thrills – and limits – of staying independent amid a festival boomGrowling, flailing, kicking, screaming, the experimental British musician Aya clutched a microphone and ranted about her hormones. If anything, the progesterone is doing wonders right now, she cackled in her Yorkshire accent as she triggered an unpredictable minefield of bone-rattling bass and clattering breakbeats. The crowd in New York Citys Knockdown Center on Friday whooped as their bodies moved without thought. The British party just elected a bunch of fascists today, she added, before lamenting about the state of the NHS. It was part of the performance: Ayas chaotic music rebels against formal structure, becoming a sonic vehicle for exploding the limitations of gender.Equal parts artistic subversion and cathartic release, Ayas set epitomized the best of C2C NYC, a sold-out, one-day edition of an independent music festival originally held in Torino, Italy, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this fall. With its affinity for innovative pop-auteurs and critical darlings, the Torino edition has become a global destination for experimental music fans; 53 of its audience now comes from outside Italy. New York became an obvious choice to expand into, says the festivals artistic director, Guido Savini, over email. Its a chance to place the festivals curatorial language within what is probably the most complex and definitely the most competitive cultural ecosystem in the world. Continue reading...
theguardian · 8 days ago
French media tycoon Vincent Bolloré casts shadow over Cannes opening As the 79th Cannes Film Festival opens on the Croisette, politics is competing with glamour for attention. Hundreds of figures from the French film industry have signed an open letter warning about what they describe as the growing influence of the far right within French cinema and media. At the centre of the controversy is French billionaire and media tycoon Vincent Bolloré, owner of Canal+, the powerful television group that plays a major role in financing French films.
france24 · 8 days ago