Cannes Film Festival 2026 begins: From Hollywood's ‘snub’ to AI John Lennon and Indian stars; all to watch out for

THe Cannes take fete, widely considered single of the world's biggest celebrations of movie theater, begins on tues. The 79th edition of the world's most prestigious film festival comes at a time when the film world is grappling with the emergence of AI, political influence in filmmaking, and Hollywood's reluctance to attend film festivals. Amid all this, Cannes will hope to dominate headlines (for the good things) over the next two weeks.A look at everything to look forward to as Cannes rolls its red carpet for cinema royalty on May 12.Icons headline main competitionTwenty-two films from around the world are part of the festival's main competition, vying for the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film. These include the latest films from cine icons such as Spain's Pedro Almodóvar, Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Romania's Cristian Mungiu, as well as emerging talents such as Belgian prodigy Lukas Dhont and France's Lea Mysius.AI- and technology-themed Sheep in the Box by Hirokazu Kore-eda is considered one of the frontrunners, along with Hope, by South Korean director Na Hong-jin.The nine-person jury this year is headed by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, and also features Demi Moore. The awards will be handed out on May 23. Hollywood's great snubUnlike previous editions, when Tom Cruise brought his blockbusters to the festival or Disney premiered Star Wars films, this year, the biggest films from Hollywood are absent from Cannes. Upcoming films like Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey or Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day won't premiere at the film festival.Reasons for their absence include cost-cutting, their growing preference for tightly controlled social media-led launches, and the risk that a mauling from the Cannes critics can doom a movie.Hollywood will not be totally absent, though. Vin Diesel and co-star Michelle Rodriguez from The Fast and the Furious will fly in for a special 25th anniversary screening of the first film in the franchise. And John Travolta will unveil his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach. Other top stars expected to attend include Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, who star in the independent film Paper Tiger, while Rami Malek will promote The Man I Love. Barbra Streisand and director Peter Jackson will pick up lifetime achievement awards. But the big studios are absent from this year's Cannes lineup.An AI John LennonDirector Steven Soderbergh will present his documentary John Lennon: The Last Interview, which features The Beatles songwriter hours before his murder. Soderbergh has turned the audio-only recording into a film, using archival photos as illustrations and, controversially, AI-generated images of the late singer. Indian stars in attendanceMany top Indian stars will walk the red carpet of Cannes this year. Festival favourite Aishwarya Rai will return once again, having been a staple at Cannes for over two decades. She will be joined by Alia Bhatt, returning after her debut last year. Aditi Rao Hydari and Tara Sutaria will also attend. The official delegation from India will be represented by filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker in his capacity as the newly appointed director of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Several stalwarts and big names from regional cinema will also make their presence felt, including Punjabi actor-singer Ammy Virk, Marathi veterans Ashok Saraf and Nivedita Saraf, and Gujarati actor-producer Mansi ParekhFilmmaker Chidambaram, best known for Manjummel Boys, will showcase the best of Malayalam cinema at Cannes this year as he takes his upcoming film Balan: The Boy to the Cannes market.