Cannes 2026 winners revealed as film festival concludes with spectacular closing ceremony
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Cannes 2026 winners Photograph: (AFP)
The closing ceremony brought together filmmakers, actors, and jury members to celebrate cinema’s evolving landscape, ending the festival on a vibrant note. Cristian Mungiu took home the Palme d’Or for Fjord, while several international films and actors were honoured across major categories.
The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival concluded on a celebratory note, bringing together some of the biggest names in global cinema for a glamorous closing ceremony on the French Riviera. . After 12 days of premieres, standing ovations, fashion moments, and cinematic discussions, Cannes 2026 ended as a powerful celebration of world cinema and creative expression. Let's take a look at the list of winners at this year's film festival.
Cannes 2026 winners list
The winners of this year's film festival were celebrated at the Palais des Festivals. The top prize was bagged by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu: the Palme d'Or for Fjord. Here is a list of the other winners who won at Cannes 2026.
Grand Prix – Minnoataure (directed by Andrei Zvianguintsev)
Best Director Prize (ex æquo) - Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi for LA BOLA NEGRA, Pawel Pawlikowski for FATHERLAND
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Best Screenplay – Emmanuel Marre for NOTRE SALUT
Jury Prize – DAS GETRAUMTE ABENTEUER (Directed by Valeska Grisebach)
Best Performance for an Actress – Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in Soudain, directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke
Best Performance for an Actor – Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne in COWARD, directed by Lukas Dhont
Short Films
Palme d'Or – PARA LOS CONTRINCANTES – directed by Federico Luis
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize- EVERYTIME- directed by Sandra WOLLNER
Jury Prize – ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG- directed by Abinash BIKRAM SHAH (1st film)
Special Jury Prize - IRON BOY - directed by Louis CLICHY
Best Actor - Bradley FIOMONA DEMBEASSET - in CONGO BOY directed by Rafiki FARIALA
Best Actresses – Marina DE TAVIRA, Daniela MARÍN NAVARRO, Mariangel VILLEGAS
in SIEMPRE SOY TU ANIMAL MATERNO directed by Valentina MAUREL
Caméra d’or
Caméra d’or Prize – BEN'IMANA – directed by Marie-Clémentine DUSABEJAMBO
Un Certain Regard
La Cinef
First Prize – LASER-GATO (Laser-Cat) – directed by Lucas ACHER NYU, USA
Second Prize - SILENT VOICES - directed by Nadine MISONG JIN Columbia University, USA
Joint Third Prize - ALDRIG NOK (Never Enough) - directed by Julius LAGOUTTE LARSEN La Fémis, France
GROWING STONES, FLYING PAPERS – directed by Roozbeh GEZERSEH & Soraya SHAMSI
Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Germany
Cannes 2026 closing ceremony highlights
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony took place on May 23 at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, hosted by French actress Eye Haïdara. The main competition jury was headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. The festival closed with a high-fashion, star-studded red carpet and the official distribution of the awards.
The closing ceremony was hosted by Eye Haidara, who also presented the opening ceremony on May 12. The awards are the Palme d’or, the Grand Prix, the Jury Prize, the Best Director, the Best Screenplay, the Best Performance by an Actress, and the Best Performance by an Actor. They were presented by Geena Davis, Xavier Dolan, Pierfrancesco Favino, Gael García Bernal, Nadine Labaki, and Zoe Saldaña.
Returning for her 23rd year at the festival, Aishwarya Rai made a highly anticipated appearance at the closing ceremony, shutting down rumours of her absence by wearing a white pantsuit and feather boa by Chene Chan. The closing party also saw heavy attendance from notable stars including Demi Moore, Geena Davis, Zoe Saldaña, Eva Longoria, and Sebastian Stan.
