Critics’ Week 2026 unveils its selection with a major premiere

An animated film will open the section which highlights emerging talents in world cinema on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.

After the official selection of Cannes 2026, it’s Critics’ Week’s turn to unveil its program.

What gems does this parallel section of the Cannes Festival dedicated to young filmmakers have in store for us? Last year, we were able to discover Nino by Pauline Loquès, recently awarded the César (best first film and male revelation for Théodore Pellerin), Adam’s interest by Laura Wandel (with Léa Drucker or Anna Maria Vartomolei) or even Proofs of love by Alice Douard (with Ella Rumpf and Monia Chokri), Left-handed Girl by Shih-Ching Tsou And Kika by Alexe Poukine, who can be found on the poster for this 65th edition with an image of Manon Clavel and Makita Samba.

Critics’ Week will open for the first time with an animated film, In Wavesthe first feature film by Franco-Vietnamese director Phuong Mai Nguyen, with Lyna Khoudri and Paul Kricher among the French voices. It is an adaptation of a graphic novel by AJ Dungo telling the thrilling love story between a young skateboarder and a young surfer challenged by illness.

In closing, we will find Milo Machado-Graner, the revelation ofAnatomy of a fallin another first film, Goodbye cruel world by Félix de Givry, the co-writer ofArco. We will follow Otto, a 14-year-old teenager who haunts the streets of his village after having failed in his suicide attempt, which he announced in a letter to his family and classmates. A realistic tale narrated by the legendary Françoise Lebrun.

In the 7 feature films in competition, including 5 first films, full of tempting cinema proposals from the four corners of the world (from Kosovo to Yemen, via China and Mexico) including Alexander Murphy’s new documentary, Tin Castle, which showed great promise with Beyond Kathmandureleased last February.

Finally, two French works will also be presented in special sessions: The strike by Julien Gaspar-Oliveri where Bastien Bouillon plays a father who finds his children after his release from prison and Fuel oil in the arteriesby Pierre Le Gall, a love story between two truck drivers played by Alexis Manenti and Julian Świeżewski.

The 2026 Critics’ Week selection:

Opening film

In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen (France, Belgium)

Closing film

Goodbye cruel world by Félix de Givry (France, Belgium)

Competition

Al Mahattah (The Station) by Sara Ishaq (Yemen, Jordan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar)

Dua by Blerta Basholli (Kosovo, Switzerland, France)

La Gradiva by Marine Atlan (France, Italy)

Wu ming nü hai (The second girl) by Zou Jing (China, France)

Six feet in the pink and blue building by Bruno Santamaría Razo (Mexico, Denmark, Brazil)

Tin Castle (Irish Travelers) by Alexander Murphy