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After a banner year that saw Palme d’Or-winning “Anora” sweep five Oscars, Cannes Film Festival is once again emerging as the leading launchpad for international movies in the Oscar race, with Joachim Trier‘s “Sentimental Value,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat,” and three more Croisette alumni garnering a total of 19 nominations across 12 categories announced this morning.
The Venice Film Festival, curated by Alberto Barbera, has traditionally been viewed by studios as the top destination to position movies in the awards season, ranks second to Cannes with an honorable 15 nominations for four movies, including two best picture contenders, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” (with nine noms), and Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia” (with four noms, including best actress for Emma Stone), Kaouther Ben Hania’s Silver Lion prizewinning “The Voice of Hind Rajab” in the best international feature category, and “The Smashing Machine,” earning director Benny Safdie a nomination.
It’s worth noting that three of the four films that Venice has in the race are big-budgeted English language movies with Hollywood stars. Cannes, by contrast, is in the mix with six foreign language films financed and produced independently outside of the U.S., underscoring how the festival, curated by longtime chief Thierry Fremaux, has leaned into international cinema. The nomination haul is also a big victory for French sales company MK2 Films, pulling a hefty 15 noms as it repped and sold around the world three of the six Cannes alumni (all but “Sirat” and the animated features “Arco” and “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” basically) nominated for Oscars. Neon bought “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent, “Sirat” and Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” from MK2 Films at Cannes where they world premiered in competition, alongside “Sirat” which was repped by The Match Factory.
Trier’s sixth feature “Sentimental Value” – partly produced in France by Juliette Schrameck, as well as Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for MK2 Productions — was nominated for nine Oscars, including best picture, director, actor for Stellan Skarsgard, actress for Renate Reinsve, supporting actress for Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, best script for Eskil Vogt and Trier and best international feature; followed by “The Secret Agent” with four noms, including best actor for Wagner Moura (who made history as the first Brazilian actor nominated in that category), as well as “Sirat” and “It Was Just an Accident” with two nominations each. All four are nominated for best international feature.
After the French co-production “Flow” which nabbed an Oscar last year, 2026 looks to be another big year for French animation with Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco,” which bowed at Cannes in Special Screenings, and “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” set to compete in the best animation category. “Arco,” which is handled by Neon, has some Hollywood firepower behind it with Natalie Portman producing and voicing a character.
2026 is shaping up to offer Fremaux and Barbera a flurry of appealing options poised to hypothetically heat up the 2027 race, including Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger” with Tom Cruise; David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” starring Brad Pitt; and Ruben Östlund’s “The Entertainment System Is Down” with Keanu Reeves and Kirsten Dunst.
English (US) ·