Festival de Cannes 2026

You’ve probably heard of many of them: they’re respected directors with extensive and brilliant filmographies, as well as multiple awards (including Cannes’ own Palme d’Or) on their resumés. Artsy, moving, daring, provocative — their work speaks for itself. But there are also several other names that instantly caught everyone’s attention. For example, Arthur Harari, who won an Oscar for Anatomy of a Fall’s original screenplay and is now presenting his first film as a director, The Unknown; or John Travolta (yes, lol), who’s making his directorial debut with Propeller One-way Night Coach; or Andy Garcia, another respected actor, who’s getting behind the camera to direct Diamond. Pretty surprising.

At METAL, though, we want to highlight the stories told by the youngest directors in this year’s edition; voices that are bringing a new type of sensitivity and storytelling to the silver screen. All of them are under forty years old, and they’re the living proof that a new generation of artists is finally making their own space and earning respect from the industry. So, in a list of big names that are hard to ignore, we shed some light on those underdogs who might fly under the radar.

The Belgian filmmaker conquered everyone’s hearts with Close (2022), an incredibly touching story about a couple of teenage boys exploring friendship, love, tenderness, companionship, and desire. Now, Lukas Dhont is back with a story set in WWI that is included in the Official Competition section. “Coward is the work of many and my most ambitious project yet. A film about love and death, creation and destruction. A film about survival and how, sometimes, even in darkness, something beautiful manages to grow. Coward is a tribute to those who, throughout the centuries, were sent to fight — and those who tried to escape it at any cost,” Dhont said in a statement.

Better known as Los Javis, this creative duo is adored in Spain because of their past works, including various series like Paquita Salas, Veneno, and La Mesías, but also for being jurors on the Spanish franchise of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Now, they’re competing on the Official section with a film exploring what it means to be gay throughout different eras, focusing on ‘three existences’ that are connected through themes of sexuality, desire, pain, and inheritance. The title is extracted from an unfinished work by one of the country’s most respected poets and authors, Federico García Lorca, who was murdered at the hands of the fascist regime during the Civil War. The best thing, though? The incredible cast: Glenn Close, Penélope Cruz, Julio Torres, Guitarricadelafuente, Lola Dueñas, or Natalia de Molina are some of the names that will make this film an epic artwork.

Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder will go head to head in this horror movie. The new work by Jane Schoenbrun will open the Un Certain Regard section, proving that she’s definitely one to watch. After the polarising I Saw the TV Glow (2024), the American director is back on the big screen with a meta story about a queer filmmaker in charge of directing the new installment of a long-running slasher franchise and ends up fixating on casting the ‘final girl’ from the original movie, with whom they end up descending into a frenzy of psychosexual mania.

During the pandemic, the comedian-turned-actor-turned-director peaked doing live streams where he responded to the wildest DMs, sang, and helped the world forget about the situation we were in. Later, he started gaining popularity, and more recently, we’ve seen him starring on HBO’s hit series, I Love LA, where he plays a sassy stylist to the stars. Now, he’s ready for his directorial debut with Club Kid, starring Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, and Firstman himself, which follows the turns and tribulations of a washed-up party promoter whose life suddenly changes.

After being a writer for films like Emilia Pérez, Ava, and The Five Devils, Léa Mysius is making a bold step. Her directorial debut, Histoires de la Nuit, is set in a quiet rural area where Nora, one of the main characters, is planning on celebrating her 40th birthday together with her husband Bergogne and daughter Iva. But their artsy neighbour, Cristina, and mysterious strangers who begin appearing in the village all of a sudden, will turn the celebration into a darker event.