The 79th Festival de Cannes announced its official winners’ list on May 23, 2026, closing one of the most important moments of the international film industry calendar. The awards mark the conclusion of the Cannes Competition and give global visibility to the films, directors, actors and creative teams selected by the festival’s juries.
For producers, distributors, sales agents and festival programmers, the Cannes winners’ list remains a key reference point for the months that follow. Awards at Cannes can strongly influence international circulation, acquisitions, theatrical positioning and awards-season strategies, especially for films presented in Competition, Un Certain Regard, La Cinef and the festival’s short film selection.
This year, the Jury of the 79th Festival de Cannes was chaired by South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook. He was joined by Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty and Stellan Skarsgård.
The Jury presented its winners’ list among the 22 films presented in Competition, with the Palme d’Or awarded to Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord.
Feature Films
Palme d’Or
Fjord
Directed by Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix
Minotaur
Directed by Andrei Zviaguintsev
Joint Best Directors
La Bola Negra
Directed by Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
Fatherland
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
Best Screenplay
A Man of His Time
Written by Emmanuel Marre
Jury Prize
Das Geträumte Abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure)
Directed by Valeska Grisebach
Best Performance by Actresses
Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto
for All of a Sudden
Directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke
Best Performance by Actors
Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne
for Coward
Directed by Lukas Dhont
Short Films
Palme d’Or
Para los Contrincantes (For the Opponents)
Directed by Federico Luis
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize
Everytime
Directed by Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize
Elephants in the Fog
Directed by Abinash Bikram Shah
First film
Special Jury Prize
Iron Boy
Directed by Louis Clichy
Best Performance by Actresses
Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro and Mariangel Villegas
for Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno
Directed by Valentina Maurel
Best Performance by an Actor
Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset
for Congo Boy
Directed by Rafiki Fariala
Caméra d’Or
Ben’imana
Directed by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Presented in Un Certain Regard
La Cinef
First Prize
Laser-Gato (Laser-Cat)
Directed by Lucas Acher
NYU, USA
Second Prize
Silent Voices
Directed by Nadine Misong Jin
Columbia University, USA
Joint Third Prize
Aldrig Nok (Never Enough)
Directed by Julius Lagoutte Larsen
La Fémis, France
Growing Stones, Flying Papers
Directed by Roozbeh Gezerseh & Soraya Shamsi
Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Germany
The Higher Technical Commission for Sound and Images
The 2026 Jury of the CST Artist-Technician Award granted the prize to Nicolas Rumpl, chief editor of A Man of His Time, directed by Emmanuel Marre.
The award recognized the film’s editorial work and the way the editing supported the visual aesthetic, direction and performances.
The 2026 CST Young Female Technician Award went to Esther Mysius, production designer of The Birthday Party, directed by Léa Mysius. Her work was recognized for shaping the sets as a narrative force within the film.
For the international film industry, the Cannes 2026 winners’ list highlights the titles and talents that will now continue their path through festival circulation, international sales, distribution strategies and awards positioning.
