A Week Until Cannes Announces-Updates on Possible TFF Films

A WEEK UNTIL CANNES ANNOUNCES-UPDATES AND POSSIBLE TFF FILMS

With a week left until the Cannes Film Festival announces the bulk of its 2026 lineup...MTFB is laser focused on the titles that will be announced and their potential as possible choices for TFF #53.  To remind readers, the two fests commonly share about 6-8 titles every year.  Last year such films as Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, The History of Sound, Nouvelle Vague, It Was Just an Accident, The Mastermind, Urchin, A Private Life and Pillion screened in France and then appeared in Telluride for TFF #52.

Recently Ioncinema posted two separate pieces focused on what might play at Cannes.  I have combined both to consolidate this list of TFF possibilities:

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar***/Sony Pictures Classics

Butterfly Jam/Balagov***

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

Gentle Monster/Kreutzer

Minotaur/Zvyagintsev***

Paper Tiger/Gray***

Parallel Tales/Farhadi***

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda***/NEON

The Unknown/Harari/NEON

The first Ioncinema piece is linked here.

https://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2026-cannes-film-festival-predictions-palme-dor-part-1

The second Ioncinema piece is linked here.

https://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2026-cannes-film-festival-predictions-golden-palme-dor

Meanwhile, Jordan Ruimy has updated his Cannes predictions as of  last Monday.  His latest assessment includes what I think could be TFF titles:

1949 (Fatherland?)/Pawlikowski***/MUBI

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar***/Sony Pictures Classics

Butterfly Jam/Balagov

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

Gentle Monster/Kruetzer

Minotaur/Zvyagintsev***

Paper Tiger/Gray***

Parallel Tales/Farhadi***

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda***/NEON

The Unknown/Harari/NEON

Here's Jordan's update.

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/3/30/variety-james-grays-paper-tiger-and-jane-schoenbruns-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-to-premiere-at-cannes

We'll know more next Thursday.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Another Look at Early Oscar Possibles and TFF/ Cannes Speculation from Deadline

ANOTHER LOOK AT OSCAR POSSIBLES AND TFF

As we march closer to the official announcement of films playing the Cannes Film Fest (see below), MTFB continues looking at really early Oscar predictions from a number Oscarologists to they to at least begin creating a list of possibilities for TFF #53.  Today we focus on Joey Magidson's Awards Radar.  Magidson posted his list of 25 possible Best Picture nominees. From that list I culled the following as possible Telluride (*** indicates the director has had a previous TFF entry):

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Artificial/Guadagnino***/Amazon-MGM

Behemoth!/T. Gilroy/Searchlight

Being Heumann/Heder/Apple TV

Clarissa/Erisi/NEON

Digger/Inarritu***/Oct. 2nd/Warner Brothers

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

I Play Rocky/P. Farrelly/Nov. 20th/Amazon-MGM

Jack of Spades/J. Coen***

Narnia: The Magician's Nephew/Gerwig***/Nov. 26th/Netflix

Paper Tiger/Gray***

A Place in Hell/Dumont/NEON

Saturn Return/Kwedar/Netflix

The Social Reckoning/Sorkin/Oct. 9th/Sony Pictures

Tony/M. Johnson/A24

The Uprising/Greengrass/Focus Features

Wild Horse Nine/McDonagh/Nov. 6th/Searchlight

The complete list of 25 films from awards Radar is here.

https://awardsradar.com/best-picture/

CANNES SPECULATION FROM DEADLINE

A couple of weeks back Deadline.com posted a large piece about possible Cannes films.  MTFB continues to watch those lists for clues to films that could do the Cannes/Telluride Two-Step.  From that Deadline piece, here are some films that could play both places:

1949/Pawlikowski

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar***/Sony Pictures Classics

Bucking Fastard/Herzog***

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

Gentle Monster/Kreutzer

Hombre al Agua/Bernal***

A Long Winter/Haigh

Minotaur/Zvyagintsev***

Parallel Tales/Farhadi***

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda***/NEON

The Unknown/Harari/NEON

The full list from Deadline is linked here.
https://deadline.com/2026/03/cannes-2026-predictions-whats-international-mix-1236751075/

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Looking at "Too Early" Oscar Predictions for Clues / And What About Cannes?...Screen Daily

 LOOKING AT "TOO EARLY" OSCAR PREDICTIONS FOR CLUES

As I have mentioned...it's time to turn our attention more fully to TFF #53.  One way to sort of begin to make a list is to look at what the Oscarologists think might be films in play for Oscar #99.  To that end, I'm looking at the first picks from Matt Neglia and Next Best Picture.  They posted on March 18th.  From their list, here are what I feel like the most likely contenders are for Telluride (with director, release date and distributor, if known.  (*** indicates the director has had a previous TFF entry):

1949 (Fatherland?)/Pawlikowski***/MUBI

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Artificial/Guadagnino***/Amazon-MGM

At the Sea/Mundruczo (played Berlin)

Being Heumann/Heder/Apple TV

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar***/Sony Pictures Classics

Bucking Fastard/Herzog***

Digger/Inarritu***/Oct. 2nd/Warner Brothers

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

Here Comes the Flood/Meirelles***/Netflix

Jack of Spades/J. Coen***

Look Back/Kore-eda***

Narnia: The Magician's Nephew/Gerwig***/Nov. 26th/Netflix

Paper Tiger/Gray***

Parallel Tales/Farhadi***

Saturn Return/Kwedar/Netflix

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda***/NEON

Untitled Jesse Eisenberg Project/Eisenberg***/Dec. 3rd/A24

Wild Horse Nine/McDonagh/Nov. 6th/Searchlight

Next Best Picture's complete list is here.

AND WHAT ABOUT CANNES?...SCREEN DAILY

I'm also continuing speculation about what might be announced for Cannes on April 9th and looking for signs of films that might complete the Cannes to Telluride double play.  From Screen Daily on March 13th.  The titles in the article are generally listed geographically. Films are listed with director, release date and distributor, if known.  *** indicates the director has had a previous TFF entry:

Parallel Tales/Farhadi***

Minotaur/Zvyagintsev***

The Unknown/Harari/NEON

Paper Tiger/Gray***

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi/NEON

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda***/NEON

1949 (Fatherland?)/Pawlikowski***/MUBI

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar***/Sony Pictures Classics

Coward/Dhont***

Fjord/Mungiu***/NEON

Screen Daily's complete post is linked here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Spying on Cannes / Visitations: Hamnet

SPYING ON CANNES 

We continue to be in the "in-between times".  That is to say between the Oscar nomination announcement and the actual Oscars...also the announcement of the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival.  So one of the things I like to do here at MTFB is try to keep an eye on the speculation about what will play at Cannes.  As frequent readers know, the overlap between films that screen in May in France and then Labor Day at Telluride is usually pronounced.

So, today we take our annual first look at the Cannes projection list from Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel.  Form that list of films, here are what seem to me the most likely TFF #53 players:

Jack of Spades/J. Coen

Paper Tiger/Gray

The Way of the Wind/Malick

Mintaul/Zvyagnistev

Parallel Tales/Farhadi

Coward/Dhont

1949/Pawlikowski

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda

Butterfly Jam/Balagov

The Basics of Philosophy/Schrader

Untitled Mike Leigh/Leigh

On Land and Sea/Palmason

The Long Winter/Haigh

Bucking Fastard/Herzog

At the Sea/Mundruczo

  

And among possible French films at Cannes:

If Love Should Die/Hansen-Love

Moulin/Nemes

Ruimy's complete list is linked here.

VISITATIONS: HAMNET

Zhao, Spielberg and Mendes on Hamnet.

Behind the Scenes of Hamnet from Collider.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com