All eyes on Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony for Palme d'Or announcement
Key takeaways
- Tilda Swinton poses for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 23, 2026.
- Several films have drawn strong early reactions from critics and audiences, though the race remains open.
- On industry publication Screen Daily's jury grid that collates reviews, "Minotaur", "All of a Sudden" and "Fatherland" from Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski have the three highest scores.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
As the world's film stars took to the red carpet ahead of the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, no clear frontrunner has emerged for the top prize, with critics hailing a strong field of contenders directed by auteurs from Russia, Iran, Romania and beyond.
By: FRANCE 24 From left: Carlos Gonzalez, Javier Ambrossi, Penelope Cruz and Javier Calvo pose for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 23, 2026. © Scott A Garfitt, AP With Hollywood studios largely absent, this year's Cannes Film Festival leaned into its indie roots, with no clear Palme d'Or frontrunner emerging from a strong field of arthouse directors ahead of Saturday's closing ceremony.
The nine-member jury led by South Korean director Park Chan-wook must choose one of 22 films from Cannes veterans, including Spain's Pedro Almodovar, Iran's Asghar Farhadi and Romania's Cristian Mungiu, for the festival's top award.