The Cannes Film Festival 2026 starts with a strong Spanish flavor: dates, jury, and films aspiring to the Palme d'Or

The Cannes Film Festival celebrates from this May 12 to 23 its anticipated 79th edition, once again transforming the French Riviera into the great epicenter of world cinema. For almost two weeks, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès will unroll its iconic red carpet to welcome some of the most important stars of the international audiovisual industry in an edition marked by the prominence of Spanish cinema.

One of the great milestones of this 2026 will be precisely the historic Spanish presence in official competition: for the first time in decades, three Spanish filmmakers will simultaneously compete for the Palme d'Or. Pedro Almodóvar returns to the festival with Bitter Christmas, starring Leonardo Sbaraglia; while Javier Bardem leads The Loved One. Joining them are Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who debut in the official competition with The Black Ball, adaptation of an unfinished text by Federico García Lorca.

This year's edition will also feature a jury presided over by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, accompanied by international figures such as Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloé Zhao or screenwriter Paul Laverty. In addition, the festival will pay tribute to two cinema legends with the Honorary Palme d'Or: Barbra Streisand and Peter Jackson. Among the most anticipated films also stand out Paper Tiger, by James Gray; Moulin, by Laszlo Nemes; or Minotauro, by Andrey Zvyagintsev, consolidating an edition that promises to combine glamour, creative risk, and some of the year's most ambitious productions.

For those who cannot travel to the Croisette, the experience can be followed from home through television and the festival's digital platforms, with the closing gala on Movistar Plus+ and the red carpet available on YouTube and Brut. Added to this is that attendees' stylings will be disseminated on social media practically live, turning each step on the red carpet into immediate content for the global audience.