After all the long standing ovations, red-carpet glamour, and endless debates about every film in competition, it’s finally time for the awards at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Heading into the closing ceremony, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland looked like top contenders for the prestigious Palme d’Or. For the acting awards, names like Léa Seydoux (The Unknown and Gentle Monster), Virginie Efira (Parallel Tales and All of a Sudden), Sandra Hüller (Fatherland), Adam Driver (Paper Tiger), Rami Malek (The Man I Love), and Javier Bardem (The Beloved) seemed to have a chance. A few other films—especially Na Hong-jin’s Hope and Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s The Black Ball—made enough of an impact to possibly win one of Cannes’ smaller prizes. But given how unpredictable the festival’s jury system can be, everything was still up for grabs.
Below are all the winners from the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
In Competition
Palme d’Or: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix: Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: The Dreamed Adventure, Valeska Grisebach
Best Director: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, The Black Ball; Pawel Pawlikowski, Fatherland
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, All of a Sudden
Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, Coward
Best Screenplay: A Man of His Time, Emmanuel Marre
Camera d’Or for Best First Feature: Ben’imana, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Short Film Palme d’Or: Para Los Contrincantes, Federico Luis
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize: Everytime, Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize: Elephants in the Fog, Abinash Bikram Shah
Special Jury Prize: Iron Boy, Louis Clichy
Best Actor: Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for Congo Boy, directed by Rafiki Fariala
Best Actresses: Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro, and Mariangel Villegas for Forever Your Maternal Animal, directed by Valentina Maurel
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about the winners of the Cannes Lions 2026 festival written in a natural tone
General Beginner Questions
1 What is the Cannes Lions festival
Its the biggest annual event in the advertising and creative communications world Brands agencies and tech companies compete for Lions awarded for the best ads campaigns and creative ideas
2 When and where did the 2026 Cannes Lions take place
It was held in Cannes France typically in June The 2026 edition ran from June 15th to June 19th
3 Who won the biggest prize the Grand Prix for Film
The Grand Prix for Film in 2026 was awarded to The Unseen Melody by Saatchi Saatchi for the Royal National Institute of Blind People It used a groundbreaking tactile audio system to let blind audiences experience a concert for the first time
4 What was the most talkedabout campaign of the year
The campaign that generated the most buzz was The Last Straw by Ogilvy UK for McDonalds UK It was a fully biodegradable edible straw that changed flavor based on the drink designed to eliminate singleuse plastic waste
5 What does it mean to win a Titanium Lion
The Titanium Lion is the most prestigious award for gamechanging innovative work that pushes the boundaries of the industry In 2026 it went to Project Echo by WiedenKennedy for Nike a realtime AI platform that turned usergenerated running data into personalized shareable music tracks
Advanced Specific Questions
6 Which country or region dominated the awards in 2026
The United States and the United Kingdom took the most overall Lions but India had a breakout year winning the most Grand Prix awards for the first time largely due to techled social impact campaigns
7 What was the big trend in the Creative Data category
The biggest trend was