Cannes Staycation 2026

This year’s program for the Cannes Film Festival (May 12–23) tilts refreshingly toward less familiar voices; more than half the directors just announced for the Main Competition have never been showcased there before. We’ll spend this session catching up with past work by names that may be newer to many of us, plus some established masters always worth reconsidering—two great ways to enjoy Cannes from home and to lay some context for whatever this year’s breakout titles turn out to be.

Recommended Viewing: Valeska Grisebach’s Western (2017), Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist (2023), and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts (2022), all available on multiple platforms and all programmed at past Chicago International Film Festivals.