◆ Entertainment
Cannes 2026 Video #12: Wrapping Up
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival drew to a close this past May 24th. In this video dispatch, Chaz Ebert reflects on this year’s fest and shares interviews Sonia Evans conducted at Cannes, including World Woman Foundation CEO/founder Rupa Dash, Take2Film’s Julie Sisk, media psychologist Dr. Katherine Woods, and more. Watch the video below.
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival is in the rear-view mirror, but we’re still reflecting on the great experience we had, the wonderful films we saw, and the fantastic people we met.
Personally, I always enjoy the Cannes Immersive Competition, which showcases new virtual-reality projects from around the world. This year, the top prize was awarded to the French-produced project, Katabasis.
Prior to the festival, American studio Neon had acquired a large number of competition films, slowing the pace of acquisitions early in the festival. But sales picked up later in the festival with Netflix acquiring the animated film “In Waves.” “Gentle Monster” with Lea Seydoux, and the Spanish breakout film, which shared the best director prize, “The Black Ball.”
Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics was busy acquiring the animated film “Iron Boy” along with “Rehearsals for a Revolution,” the Iranian film that won the “Golden Eye” prize for best documentary in the festival.
Also, “La Gradiva,” winner of the grand prize in the Critics’ Week section, was acquired by distributor 1-2 Special, who are reportedly planning a theatrical release.
More and more I find that Cannes is about connecting with people, long-time friends and new ones.
(INTERVIEW with Julie Sisk of Take2Film)
This year, we met with Rupa Dash, CEO and founder of the World Woman Foundation. She’s leading initiatives to bring creative women together all over the world, including in Cannes.
(INTERVIEW)
Our senior vice president of development, Sonia Evans, at down with Dr. Katherine Woods, a media psychologist, professor at George Washington university, and author of a number of books.
Your pool is already running this. Are you?
(INTERVIEW)
Our dear friends Nicholas and Pamela Guest were back in Cannes this year, and these two accomplished actors are currently working on a fascinating documentary.
(INTERVIEW)
We’ve followed the path of Elizabeth Guest’s feature film directorial debut from its early days through it’s completion last year. We’re very happy to report that the film has a distribution deal and you’ll be able to see this stellar rom-com later in 2026.
(INTERVIEW)
People are often surprised that the leaders from other film festivals around the world come to the Cannes Film Festival each year. We talked with Ingrid Jean-Baptiste from the Chelsea Film Festival about why she comes to Cannes.
(INTERVIEW)
Of course, Cannes attracts filmmakers from all over the world. We met with Nancy Paton, a Polish-Austrailian producer and founder of Desert Rose Films in the United Arab Emirates. Her production company strives to give underrepresented females a voice in front of and behind the camera.
(INTERVIEW)
That’s all for Cannes 2026! It was a very special year, both on screen and off, and we can’t wait to come back for the 80th edition of the film festival in 2027. We know there will be a lot of surprises planned. Until then, au revoir!