The 2026 Cannes Film Festival is just a week away, and, almost on cue, the festival has announced this year’s competition jury. Joining the president of the Jury, Park Chan-wook, are Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty, and Stellan Skarsgård. They will be responsible for selecting a number of key awards, including the prestigious Palme d’Or.
Notably, this year’s jury only has five current members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Although that could eventually change based on the membership class announced this summer. Recent juries have been dominated by AMPAS members, a unique correlation to the Oscars increasingly embracing Cannes world premieres since 2020. That being said, this year’s members are notable. Moore was nominated for Best Actress in 2025 for Cannes breakout “The Substance.” Zhao is a two-time Oscar winner for Best Picture winner “Nomadland” and her latest endeavor, “Hamnet,” earned eight nominations, including Best Picture. Skarsgård earned his first nomination this year for the 2025 Cannes Grand Prix winner “Sentimental Value.” Negga was honored with a Best Actress nomination in 2017 for the 2016 Cannes world premiere, “Loving.”
Among the other jurors, Céspedes will make waves for being on the jury after just one feature film, “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” which debuted at last year’s festival and was Chile’s submission for the International Film Oscar. Wandel is a Belgian writer and director who has had two feature films screen in different sections of the festival, including 2021’s “Playground.” De Bankolé is an actor best known for his roles in Jim Jarmusch films such as “Night on Earth,” “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” and “The Limits of Control.” Recently, he’s appeared in both “Black Panther” films and “The Brutalist.” Laverty is a screenwriter who has collaborated on 14 different Ken Loach films, 11 of which have premiered at Cannes, including Palme d’Or winners “The Wind that Shakes the Barely” and “I, Daniel Blake.”
Last year’s Palme d’Or went to “It Was Just An Accident” with the aforementioned “Sentimental Value” as well as “Sirat,” “Sound of Falling,” “The Secret Agent,” “The Little Sister,” “Resurrection” and “Young Mothers” also receiving awards.
The 76th Festival de Cannes will run from will take place May 12 to May 23. Look for complete coverage on The Playlist.
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