4 min readCannesUpdated: May 13, 2026 03:19 PM IST
SCREEN At Cannes: Turning the familiar corner from the old church to the main avenue across the Palais, you see the iconic duo of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon splashed across the poster telling us it is Cannes time again, that annual jamboree where cinema meets glamour, and the world’s biggest and brightest stars walk the red carpet to be welcomed inside the Grand Theatre Luminaire, for the opening ceremony.
Just so we don’t use up all our superlatives in the first paragraph, let us remind you that behind the scenes of the glitz and glamour, the gowns and jewels and champagne cocktails, and the legendary after-parties on the lit-up yachts lined up in the harbour, the serious grind of movie-making and deal-striking goes on till dawn and beyond, and that’s the reason why the bustling Marche du Cinema or the Market section is a beacon that invites all those involved in the business of cinema to be there, or perish.
Watching movies. Buying and selling movies. Talking movies. This is what draws the world’s press, including your correspondent, to the Croisette every year, where all eyes are on the Competition section, which has films from celebrated auteurs, several of them Cannes darlings, as well a bunch of others, including Pedro Almodovar’s Amarga Navidad, Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales, Pawel Pawilowski’s Fatherland, Cristian Mingui’s Fjord, Hamaguchi Rysuke’s All Of A Sudden, Ira Sach’s The Man I Love.
Jury member Demi Moore poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes. (Photo: AP)
The jury of the competition section of the 79th edition of the festival, which has been making a concerted effort to go international, is headed by S Korea’s Park Chan wook, several of whose films have bowed in Cannes. Wook, along with American actor Demi Moore, Irish-Ethiopian actor, Ruth Negga, Chinese director and writer Chloe Zhao, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, Belgian director Laura Wandel, Chilean director Diego Cespedes, and Ivorian American actor Isaach de Bancole.
Watching the amazing Jane Fonda stride on to the stage, belying every one of her 88 years, along with Gong Li, was a moment: a striking combination of East and West, accompanying an announcement of declaring the festival open. Sir Peter Jackson, whose down-to-earth airs wowed the crowd, was given the Honorary Palme, which he brandished, saying, ‘I’m not a Palme sort of guy’. Sure, coming from the guy who gave us The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, that sounds like something that the unassuming director would say: up until Jackson got his hands on thatJRR Tolkien’s door-stopping three-part novel, the Middle earth saga was considered unfilm-able, and look what we got.
Jane Fonda poses for photographers at the opening ceremony and premiere of the film ‘The Electric Kiss’ during 79th international film festival, Cannes. (Photo: AP)
India was represented at the Cannes by opening with Alia Bhatt, resplendent in blush-toned pink, and newly appointed IFFI director Ashutosh Gowariker; Aishwarya Rai, a Cannes regular, will join later in the festival. In the last couple of years, Indian filmmakers have done the county proud, with Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light ( 2023) winning a major award, as well as Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound (2024) getting a standing ovation.
Alia Bhatt walks the Cannes 2026 red carpet.
This year, the Cannes classic section with screen a restored version of John Abraham’s Amma Ariyan, and in the La Cinef (student’s films) category is Mehar Malhotra’s short film Shadows Of The Moonless Night.
