Directors Portfolio
For our 2026 Directors Portfolio, we went from A to Z right off the bat: Pedro Almodóvar was the first to send in his portrait, followed in short order by Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev. Then came Oscar winners (Ron Howard, Arthur Harari), iconoclasts (James Gray, Pawel Pawlikowski), provocateurs (Quentin Dupieux) and actors branching out (John Travolta, Diego Luna, Andy Garcia, Judith Godrèche).
We did a lot of shooting in Paris this year because Cannes chose a lot of French films, but we wound up with photos from 20 cities in 12 countries on four continents.
As always, these faces are the heart of the Cannes Film Festival.
BY STEVE POND
Executive Editor, Awards
Pedro Almodóvar
Bitter Christmas
Main Competition
Photographed by Iglesias Más in Madrid
John Travolta
Propeller One-Way Night Coach
Cannes Premiere
Photographed by Jimmy Marino in Biloxi, Mississippi
Ron Howard
Avedon
Special Screenings
Photographed by Ian Spanier in Beverly Hills
Lisandro Alonso
Double Freedom
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Augusto Matte in Conhelo, Argentina
Sara Ishaq
The Station
Critics’ Week
Photographed by Mazin Wanrooij in the Cairngorms, Scotland
Bruno Dumont
Red Rocks
Directors’ Fortnight
Special Screening
Photographed by Fiorella Moretti in Le Dramont, France
Laïla Marrakchi
Strawberries
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Zoé Le Ber in Paris
Bruno Santamaria Razo
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building
Critics’ Week
Photographed by Kiryl Synkou in Minsk, Belarus
Kantemir Balagov
Butterfly Jam
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kira Kovalenko in Telluride, Colorado
Judith Godrèche
A Girl’s Story
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Tess Barthélemy in New York City
Clio Barnard
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in London
Diego Luna
Ashes
Special Screenings
Photographed by Tomás Manterola in Madrid
Lila Pinell
Shana
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Koji Fukada
Nagi Notes
Main Competition
Photographed by Hidemi Shinoda in Tokyo
Pawel Pawlikowski
Fatherland
Main Competition
Photographed by Agata Grzybowska in Wroclaw, Poland
Zachary Wigon
Victorian Psycho
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Keith Barraclough in New York City
Cristian Mungiu
Fjord
Main Competition
Photographed by Tudor Panduru in Bucharest
Pierre Salvadori
The Electric Kiss
Out of Competition
(Opening Night Film)
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Ira Sachs
The Man I Love
Main Competition
Self-portrait taken in New York City
David Greaves
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
(co-directed with William Greaves)
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Liani Greaves in Valley Cottage, New York
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Minotaur
Main Competition
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Jane Schoenbrun
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Emily Assiran in Chatham, New York
James Gray
Paper Tiger
Main Competition
Photographed by Alexandra Dickson Gray in Los Angeles
Andy Garcia
Diamond
Out of Competition
Photographed by Chloe Rosey in Los Angeles
Lukas Dhont
Coward
Main Competition
Photographed with actors Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne
by Kris Dewitte in Houthulst, Belgium
Nicolas Winding Refn
Her Private Hell
Out of Competition
Self-portrait taken in Copenhagen
Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
A Woman’s Life
Main Competition
Photographed by Nathalie Azoulai on Île de Ré, France
Phuong Mai Nguyen
In Waves
Critics’ Week
Photographed by Benjamin Renner in Paris
Jordan Firstman
Club Kid
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Arsenii Vaselenko in Los Angeles
Chuko Esiri and Arie Esiri
Clarissa
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Jonathan Bloom in London
Marie Kreutzer
Gentle Monster
Main Competition
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Ben’Imana
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Rwema Noella in Kigali, Rwanda
Volker Schlöndorff
Visitation
Cannes Premiere
Photographed by Max Klein in Berlin
Kohei Kadowaki
We Are Aliens
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kenichiro Tachikaw in Tokyo
Guillaume Canet
Karma
Out of Competition
Photographed by Arno Lam in Paris
Emmanuel Marre
Notre Salut
Main Competition
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Brussels
Ryusuke Hamaguchi
All of a Sudden
Main Competition
Photographed by HK in Paris
Reed Van Dyk
Atonement
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Gratiela Brancusi in Los Angeles
Valentina Maurel
Forever Your Maternal Animal
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Brussels
Rakan Mayasi
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Brussels
Bertrand Mandico
Roma Elastica
Midnight Screenings
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Arthur Harari
The Unknown
Main Competition
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
July Jung
Dora
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Quentin Dupieux
Full Phil
Midnight Screenings
and
Vertiginous
Directors’ Fortnight
Self-portrait taken in Paris
Sompot Chidgasornpongse
9 Temples to Heaven
Directors’ Fortnight
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Christophe Dimitri Réveille
The Survivors of Che
Special Screenings
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Marco Nguyen
Jim Queen
(co-directed with Nicolas Athane)
Midnight Screenings
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Pierre Le Gall
Flesh and Fuel
Critics’ Week
Photographed by Kris Dewitte in Paris
Manuela Martelli
The Meltdown
Un Certain Regard
Photographed by Juan Sáez in Berlin
