79th Cannes Film Festival, soundtrack and review of Thelma and Louise.
CinéFemme-Annakarinaland-2026.4.25 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM (PST)
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This week's program will feature highlights from official competition at the79th Cannes Film festival May 13-23 and film reports from past festivals:
79th Official Poster: Inspired by a 1966 Ford Thunderbird, the poster highlights Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma and Louise from 1990 directed by Ridley Scott.
The film chronicles the friendship of two women who work in a café – Thelma is married to an abusive man and Louise has a history of sexual abuse.
A recurring event is the Marché du Film (Film Market): Runs May 12–20, 2026, featuring 1,500+ screenings. Created in 1959 it is a forum designed to make connections and discuss business opportunities such as collaborations and co-productions, financing, and distribution.
The Marché has screenings not in the official selection for new films hoping to attract buyers.
Let’s looks at six of the 22 films in competition. Throughout the duration of the Festival, none of the films invited may be screened outside of the Festival’s theatres before its official presentation.
Opening film:
THE ELECTRIC KISS by Pierre SALVADORI – Out of Competition
A grieving painter who tries to contact his dead wife through a psychic after losing his inspiration to work. Written by Rebecca Zlotowski, a French film director and screenwriter. Her film A Private Life was led by Jodie Foster. Pio Marmaï is the lead actor from the Netflix series Zero the Assassin
MARGA NAVIDAD by Pedro ALMODÓVAR
An advertising executive Elsa (Bárbara Lennie) faces a crisis after her mother's death
A WOMAN’S LIFE by Charline BOURGEOIS-TACQUET
This is her second feature about a middle aged surgeon - Léa Drucker as Gabrielle, whose life is consumed by her work until she is the subject of a writer who asks bold questions (Melanie Thierry).
LA BOLA NEGRA by Javier CALVO & Javier AMBROSSI
Inspired by the unfinished work of Federico García Lorca
The plot is set in 1932, 1937, and 2017, exploring the inter-connected lives of three gay men and performances by Glen Close and Penelope Cruz.
COWARD by Belgian director Lukas DHONT
Coward is a tribute to those who, throughout the centuries, were sent to fight—and those who tried to escape it at any cost set in the trenches of World War I.
PARALLEL TALES by Asghar FARHADI is his first French film
Loosely based on Krzysztof Kieślowski's Dekalog: Six.
Sylvie (Isabelle Huppert) is a famous author seeking inspiration who hires the mysterious an assistant, who quickly turns her life upside down
PAPER TIGER by James GRAY is a new entry to the competition
with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.
Two brothers pursue the American Dream but get entangled in a dangerous Russian mafia scheme that terrorizes their family, testing their bond as betrayal becomes possible.
INTERNATIONAL CRITICS WEEK
The Indian director Payal Kapadia.
will preside over the 65th edition of Critics' Week, in Cannes from May 13 to 21. "All We Imagine as Light," her second feature film was the Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, about the stories of three women in a vibrant Mumbai. Her jury will be composed of Quebec actor Théodore Pellerin, singer-songwriter Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu, and journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival. Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.
Kapadia declared "At a time when independent cinema is under attack in every country, supporting filmmakers' first works is almost an act of resistance against market forces. Film criticism is one of the pillars of the independent and art-house film ecosystem”.
KERING TALKS
Kering highlights women in cinema through prizes, talks, and podcasts, addressing gender inequality.
Julianne Moore will receive the 2026 Women In Motion Award on May 17.
Best actress at Cannes for MAPS TO THE STARS de David Cronenberg 2014.
No stranger to film, 47 year old Margherita Spampinato will receive the 2026 Emerging Talent Award.
BACKGROUND TO KERING
In 2015 when the award was created there had been controversy over the fact that only one or two women were among the official competition selections -this has barely changed. The Kering talks invited primarily actors and Jane Fonda was the first recipient. The awards are presented in a rather small room facing the Côte d’Azur and consists of an interview with a member of the organization and later question from the public. The talks are broadcast on the internet.
Past winners 2025: Donna Langley chairperson of Universal
2023: Michelle Yeoh
2022: Viola Davis
2021: Salma Hayek Pinault wife of the founder of Kering François-Henri Pinault
2019: Gong Li
2018: Patty Jenkins
2017: Isabelle Huppert
2016: Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon
