Rodrigo Sorogoyen has never been shy about conflict. “The Beasts,” “The Realm,” and “Riot Police” all turned personal, political, or institutional pressure into blunt-force drama. With “The Beloved,” the Spanish filmmaker narrows the focus to a father and daughter on a film set, where old wounds resurface under the cover of making movies. Starring Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo, the Cannes competition title has unveiled its first Spanish-language teaser trailer ahead of its May 16, 2026, world premiere on the Croisette.
The film’s Spanish title is “El ser querido,” and it stars Bardem as Esteban Martínez, an acclaimed filmmaker whose reputation has been shaped by his work, violence, and excess. For his new project, Esteban offers his estranged daughter Emilia (Victoria Luengo) a role, framing it as a chance to help her stalled acting career. Once they are living together on set, unresolved baggage between them surfaces, and the uneasy closeness between them becomes the center of the film.
That setup gives Sorogoyen a sharp, meta arena: a film shoot inside a family drama, with the hierarchy of director and actor layered over the messier hierarchy of father and daughter. Esteban and Emilia reunite on the set of a movie titled “Desierto,” shooting in Fuerteventura and set in 1930s Western Sahara, which suggests another Sorogoyen pressure chamber where personal history and buried resentments start to chafe.
The cast also includes Raúl Arévalo, Marina Foïs, Mourad Ouani, Raúl Prieto, Melina Matthews, Laura Birn, Núria Prims, Pablo Gómez-Pando, and Malena Villa. Sorogoyen co-wrote the screenplay with longtime collaborator Isabel Peña, with Álex de Pablo serving as cinematographer, Alberto del Campo as editor, and Olivier Arson as composer.
“The Beasts” became one of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s biggest international breakouts, but “The Beloved” marks a new step for him: it is his first film ever selected for the Cannes competition. That puts the Spanish filmmaker in the Palme d’Or race for the first time at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, a major elevation for a director whose work has been steadily building international momentum. The drama will open in France on May 16, 2026, via Le Pacte, the same day as its Cannes presentation, before arriving in Spanish theaters on August 26, 2026, via A Contracorriente Films. Goodfellas is handling international sales.
Caballo Films, Movistar Plus+, El Ser Querido AIE, and Le Pacte produce the film. Movistar Plus+ will stream the film in Spain after its theatrical window. “The Beloved” premieres at Cannes on May 16, 2026, though no U.S. release date or distributor has been announced yet. Watch the trailer below.
