The Cannes Film Festival has just unveiled the official 2026 lineup for its Directors’ Fortnight section. Created in 1969, this section has been dedicated to showcasing the most singular forms of contemporary cinema. Opening the section’s 58th edition this year is Kantemir Balagov’s New Jersey-set drama Butterfly Jam, starring Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough, and Harry Melling. It follows an aspiring wrestler (Keoghan) who puts his dreams on hold when his immigrant father’s scheme goes wrong. Balagov, a Russian exile, previously helmed the 2019 WWII drama Beanpole, for which he was awarded Best Director at the festival’s Un Certain Regard section.
With five of their titles set to premiere in competition, NEON has two films playing at Directors’ Fortnight. David and William Greaves’ documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem, which premiered to huge acclaim at Sundance, will be making its international premiere in the section. It features footage originally shot by William (David’s late father) from a 1972 gathering of legends from the Harlem Renaissance, which he deemed his most significant capture. Another NEON title making its world premiere in this section is Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s Clarissa, a modern reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway,” which stars Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh, and Ayo Edebiri. The brothers previously helmed the Nigeria-set drama Eyimofe (This Is My Desire), for which they won Best Director at the African Movie Academy Awards.
Other highlights in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight section include Radu Jude’s adaptation of The Diary of a Chambermaid; Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, starring Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew; Reed Van Dyk’s Iraqi war veteran drama Atonement, with Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass, and Boyd Holbrook; July Jung’s Dora, starring Sakura Ando (Shoplifters) and K-pop star and actress Kim Do-yeon; Lisandro Alonso’s Double Freedom; and the section closer Le Vertige, the second movie at this year’s Cannes from French comedy master Quentin Dupieux.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 12 through 23. See the full list of the Directors’ Fortnight lineup below.
Feature Films
(*denotes first film and eligibility for Caméra d’Or)
Butterfly Jam (opening film)
Dir: Kantemir Balagov
9 Temples To Heaven *
Dir: Sompot Chidgasornpongse
Atonement *
Dir: Reed Van Dyk
Clarissa
Dirs: Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri
Death has no master (La muerte no tiene dueño)
Dir: Jorge Thielen Armand
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Dir: Radu Jude
Dora
Dir: July Jung
Double Freedom (La libertad doble)
Dir: Lisandro Alonso
Gabin * – documentary
Dir: Maxence Voiseux
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Dir: Clio Barnard
Low Expectations (Lave Forventninger) *
Dir: Eivind Landsvik
Once Upon A Time In Harlem – documentary
Dirs: William Greaves & David Greaves
La Perra
Dir: Domingo Sotomayor
Shana
Dir. Lila Pinell
Thanks for Coming (Merci d’être venu) – documentary
Dir: Alain Cavalier
Too Many Beasts (l’Espèce Explosive) *
Dir: Sarah Arnold
Viva Carmen (Carmen, L’Oiseau Rebel) – animation
Dir: Sebastian Laundenbach
We Are Aliens (animation) *
Dir: Kohei Kadowaki
Le Vertige – animation (Closing Film)
Dir: Quentin Dupieux
Short and Medium-Length Films
The Joyless Economy – documentary
Dir: Marjorie Conrad
Oh Boys
Dir: Antonio Donato
Early Morning
Dir. Sebastián Lojo
Eri – animation
Dir: Yano Honami
Pithead
Dir: Wannes Vanspauwen & Pol De Plecker
The Daughters Of The Late Colonel
Dir: Elizabeth Hobbs
Nothing Happens After Your Absence
Dir: Ibrahim Omar
Free Eliza (Notes On An Anatomical Imperfection)
Dir: Alexandra Matheou
In Search of the Green-striped Bird
Dir: Saïd Hamich Benlarb
