Since 2025, when Palme d’Or winner Anora swept five Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival has once again emerged as a major launching pad for international films in the Oscar race. Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” Oliver Lacks’ “Silat,” and three more Croisette alums earned a total of 19 nominations in 12 categories Thursday morning.
The Venice Film Festival, overseen by Alberto Barbera, has traditionally been considered a prime destination for movie studios to position their films during awards season. This year, it was second only to Cannes with an honorable 15 nominations for four films, including Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (nine nominations) and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (four nominations, including Best Actress for Emma Stone). Other nominated films that premiered in Venice include Kauser Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, which won the Silver Lion for Best International Feature, and The Smashing Machine, which won Best Hair and Makeup.
It’s worth noting that three of the four films Venice is in competition with are big-budget, English-language films starring Hollywood stars. By contrast, Cannes has six foreign-language films financed and independently produced outside the United States, underscoring the international focus of the festival, which is curated by longtime chief Thierry Frémaux. The nominations were also a huge win for French distributor MK2 Films, which received Oscar nominations for three of its six Cannes Film Festival graduates (excluding Silat, the animated films Arco and Little Amélie), and sold them around the world with a whopping 15 nominations. In addition to Match Factory’s “Sirat”, Neon acquired “Sentimental Value”, “The Secret Agent” and Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” from MK2 Films in Cannes, which had their world premieres in competition.
Sentimental Value, Trier’s sixth feature, was produced in France in part by Juliette Schramek and MK2 Productions’ Nathanaël and Elisha Kermitz, and won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film. It was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Actor for Teran Skarsgård, Best Actress for Renate Rijnsve, Best Supporting Actress for Elle Fanning and Inga Ybsdotter Lillias, and Original Screenplay for Eskil Vogt. and Trier and international special features. “The Secret Agent” received four nominations, including Best Actor for Wagner Moura (who made history as the first Brazilian actor nominated in the category), while “Silat” and “It Was an Accident” each received two nominations. All four films have been nominated for the Best International Feature Award.
After the French co-production Flow won an Oscar last year, 2026 looks set to be another big year for French animation. Hugo Bienvenue’s “Arco” bowed out at a special screening at Cannes, and “Little Amelie, or the Characters of Reimme” will be submitted in the best animation category. Neon’s “Arco” has Hollywood power, with Natalie Portman producing and voicing the character.
2026 is shaping up to offer Fremaux and Barbera a number of attractive options that could add excitement to the 2027 race, including Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger starring Tom Cruise, David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth starring Brad Pitt, and Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System Is Down starring Keanu Reeves. Kirsten Dunst.
