The 79th Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday night with New Zealand director Peter Jackson receiving an honorary Palme d’Or, presented by Elijah Wood, as Demi Moore led a glittering opening red carpet in a Jacquemus dress that became the most-discussed look of the evening.
The festival runs from 12 to 23 May 2026 at the Palais des Festivals on the French Riviera. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, director of Oldboy and Decision to Leave, is presiding over the main competition jury this year. Out of 22 films competing for the Palme d’Or, just two are from American directors: Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, starring Rami Malek, and James Gray’s Paper Tiger, featuring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller.
The competition lineup leans heavily European and Asian, which makes Park Chan-wook a quietly pointed choice as jury president.
Peter Jackson gets his moment at Cannes
Jackson, the director behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit films, was presented with his honorary Palme d’Or by Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins across all three Lord of the Rings films.
It was the kind of presentation moment Cannes does well, and the pairing of director and actor more than two decades after those films defined a generation of cinema carried its own weight.
A second honorary Palme d’Or was awarded on the same evening to Barbra Streisand, the American singer, actress and filmmaker. Both honours were presented at the opening ceremony gala, which screened Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus électrique as the festival’s official opening film.
Jackson’s recognition at Cannes comes after a relatively quiet stretch. His last major project was the Beatles documentary Get Back, released in 2021. The honorary Palme d’Or has already prompted renewed conversation about what he is working on next, though he has not made any announcements.
What else is happening on and off the Croisette
Joining Moore on the red carpet were Jane Fonda, Heidi Klum, Joan Collins and Maura Higgins, alongside James Franco, whose appearance at a major film event drew considerable comment given his extended absence from the international circuit.
Running in parallel with the competition is the production of Season 4 of The White Lotus, which HBO has relocated to Cannes itself.
Mike White’s series, which satirises the ultra-wealthy in increasingly elaborate settings, will use the festival and its surroundings as backdrop. Several cast members have reportedly been spotted around the Croisette ahead of their scenes.
The competition jury will award the Palme d’Or on the final night of the festival, 23 May 2026.
Whether Park Chan-wook’s jury rewards the European-heavy lineup or gives ground to one of the two American entries is the tension that will build over the next ten days.
