Herzog and Cannes in 2026 / Tony Comes Off the List / Gaudagnino and Artificial Move to 2027

HERZOG AND CANNES IN 2026

The confusion surrounding whether Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard might or might not screen at Cannes seems to have been cleared up.  Variety has reported that the film was selected but not for Palme d'Or competition.  That appears to have not sat well with the Herzog camp as they reportedly turned down the invitation.  

Variety further reports that the impetus for that decision has to do with the eligibilty for Rooney and Kate Mara who play sisters in the film.  From Variety:

"The reason that “Bucking Fastard” won’t be playing at that the Palais is that it wasn’t offered a Cannes competition slot. Herzog had hoped that stars Rooney and Kate Mara, who are said to give searing performances as twin sisters, would be eligible for awards, according to a source close to the filmmakers."

Open speculation is that Herzog will likely now premiere the film at Venice...which would still leave it positioned to make the TFF #53 lineup.

The complete story from Variety is linked here.

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/werner-herzog-bucking-fastard-turns-down-cannes-invite-1236741890/

TONY COMES OFF THE LIST

I had included Matt Johnson's Tony (sort of origin story for celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain starring Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) in the title role) on a couple of speculative lists for Telluride.  That's moot now as we.ve seen that the film has been dated for release on August 7th.

GUADAGNINO AND ARTIFICIAL MOVE TO 2027

Another film that is probably off the list of TFF #53 possibles is Luca Guadagnino's Artificial.  World of Reel reports that the film will be moving toa 2027 release primarily to avoid competing with Aaron Sorkin;s The Social Reckoning.  Both films had been dated for Oct. 9th according to IMDB.

The story from WOR (and PageSixHollywood) reads:

"...Amazon/MGM has decided that “Artificial” won’t be released in the fall — instead it is now aiming for an early 2027 release because it “didn’t want the film to go up against [Aaron Sorkin’s] ‘The Social Network’ sequel,” which is set to release in October, given that the two films “share similar themes of cutthroat tech billionaires.”

The 2027 dating likely moves Artificial off the Telluride watch list.

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Cannes Director's Fortnight Announced / NEON Grabs Hope / Tony May Be Late

CANNES DIRECTOR'S FORTNIGHT ANNOUNCED

The Director's Fortnight Section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival has been announced.  That information was released on Tuesday.  Taking a quick look at the titles, the only film that jumps out as a possibility for TFF #53 is Kantemir Balagov's Butterfly Jam.  Balagov was at Telluride in 2029 with Beanpole.  I will say that Reed van Dyk's Atonement sounds interesting and might be worth keeping an eye on.

Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov)***

9 Temples To Heaven (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)

Atonement (Reed Van Dyk)

Clarissa (Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri)

Death has no master (Jorge Thielen Armand)

The Diary of a Chambermaid (Radu Jude)

Dora (July Jung)

La libertad doble (Lisandro Alonso)

Gabin (Maxence Voiseux)

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning (Clio Barnard)

Low Expectations (Eivind Landsvik)

Once Upon A Time In Harlem (David Greaves)

La Perra (Dominga Sotomayor)

Shana (Lila Pinell)

Thanks for Coming (Merci d’être venu) (Alain Cavalier)

l’Espèce Explosive (Sarah Arnold)

Viva Carmen (Sebastian Laundenbach)

We Are Aliens (Kohei Kadowaki)

Le Vertige (Quentin Dupieux)

NEOIN GRABS HOPE

Reports that distributor NEON, which has a run of six straight films winning Cannes' Palme d'Or, has picked up U.S. distribution for Na Hong-jon's Hope.  The film stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.  The acquisition makes me think that NEON thinks it could be a player when awards are handed out at the of Cannes.  That's enough to make me think it might be a consideration for TFF.

The IMDb's description goes like this:

"A mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. The residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before."

NEON's Palme run has included: Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy of a Fall, Anora and It Was Just an Accident.  All but Titane and Triangle of Sadness subsequently played at Telluride.

TONY MAY BE LATE

I have had Matt Johnson's Tony on the periphery of my lists of "maybe" films for TFF #53 but I might have to re-calculate as World of Reel reports that the film is headed for reshoots beginning as early as next week.

Tony is based on a real episode from the life of legendary chef Anthony Bourdain.  Bourdain os being played by "The Holdovers" breakout Dominic Sessa.  Plans apparently are for the film to be available for fall festival time even with the additional filming schedule to take place now.

The complete World of Reel article is linked here.

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/4/12/a24s-tony-matt-johnsons-anthony-bourdain-biopic-heads-to-reshoots-this-month

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