Cannes Lineup - The Competition Films

by Nathaniel R 

Almodóvar will be competing for the Palme for the seventh time with "BITTER CHRISTMAS"

The Cannes competition lineup is here. There's been a lot of scuttlebutt online that it's disappointing. I don't know how that can be the case yet when the films are unseen. It is true that it is very expected in that it is mostly auteurs that they have programmed in the past but that is literally ALWAYS the case since Cannes isn't exactly known for straying from their favourites. What's interesting -- at least to me -- is that the lineup feels gayer than usual with multiple LGBTQ+ filmmakers in the mix. If we're lucky the Queer Palm race will be as spoiled for quality choices as the Palme d'Or!

Cláudio is planning his regular "Cannes at home" series in which he'll revisit previous features from this year's returning auteurs. What else would you love to see? 

COMPETITION LINEUP 2026

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PT 2 - Who Should Be the Next Amy Madigan?

by Team Experience

BARBARA HERSHEY made our Top Five. But who else did? Read on!

In Part 1 of this Oscar-fantasy exercise we laid the groundwork for the actress-obsessive question of the moment and shared thoughts on several actresses we are rooting for in terms of an unexpected / winning Oscar comeback. Now on to the tippity top vote-getters from our Team member polling. Tomorrow in Part 3 we'll talk about the collective vote from the 100+ readers who took the poll.

A quick catch up from Part One of our 'Top Dozen Desired Comebacks' after a single nomination...

11 (tie) Jennifer Tilly
11 (tie) Sharon Stone
10 Kristin Scott Thomas
09 Catherine Deneuve
08 Mare Winningham
07 Juliette Lewis 

AND NOW THE TOP SIX...

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PT 1 - Who Should Be The Next Amy Madigan? (Team Experience Votes!)

by Team Experience

Which actress deserves an Aunt Gladys style comeback most? Stone? Perez? Lewis? The possibilities are almost endless!

We received a really fun request from a reader (Thank you, Brian!) a week or two back. Amy Madigan rose from the dead (pop culture figuratively speaking) 40 years after her first Oscar nomination (Twice in a Lifetime discussed here) to not only break the record of the actress with the longest gap between nominations (the previous record holder being Helen Hayes at 39 years) but also went on to win the Oscar! Her comeback is instantaneously the stuff of legend which made Brian's question catnip to us. He challenged Team Experience to sound off on Who do we think should be the next Amy Madigan ? 

TO FIT THE BILL IT HAS TO BE...

• An actress with only one Oscar nomination (she lost)
• Which she received 20 or more years ago
• And she's at least 50 years of age at the moment. 

76 living women met that criteria (we eliminated people with Honorary Oscars). Once we had the eligibility list Team Experience each ranked their 10 favorites so the following communal list is the combined vote - originally we had a couple of ties so we brought in our old friend and podcast pal Nick Davis to break the ties with his own vote (though he wasn't shown our list so he didn't know what ties he might be breaking!). #1 rankings on each ballot were worth ten points, #2 rankings nine points, and so on. Here are the results in ascending order...

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Is 2026 Sandra Hüller’s year?

by Cláudio Alves

PROJECT HAIL MARY, Chris Lord & Phil Miller | © Amazon MGM Studios

One of the most widely loved and acclaimed films in the first half of 2026 has been Project Hail Mary. Personally, I didn’t fall head over heels for Lord and Miller’s Andrew Weir adaptation, though one element did earn some adoration. After all, how can you not love Sandra Hüller doing her damnedest to add dimension and dynamism to her scenes, elevating what could have been an exposition machine into the picture’s most arresting presence? The moment when she belts out Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” in a most fatalistic going-away party is enough to justify the admission price. Give this German thespian a mic and a pop tune, and you’ll get instant movie magic. Toni Erdmann fans remember!

Honestly, 2026 is shaping up to be Sandra Hüller’s year, even more than 2023 already was. With that in mind, consider some Berlinale musings, Cannes news, and Venice speculation, after the jump…

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Readers Poll: Who would you love to see as the next... ?

Here we are again. I'll give you all one more day to vote (or convince a friend) to vote on this "who should be the next Amy Madigan?" poll, cutting that poll off this Thursday night (04/09). In the meantime though, let's honor the men despite our perpetual actressy focus! Same parameters apply as the last poll-- only one Oscar nomination, more than 20 years ago, still alive, over 50, still Oscarless -- the latter meaning that an Honorary Oscar still disqualifies you. So who should it be? Here are the actors who fit the brief. 

While a man isn't going to be able to win Best Supporting Actress like Amy Madigan, it's still fun to contemplate a similar scenario. It wasn't that long ago that it happened for Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer (2023). Judd Hirsch also managed to return after an even longer time away from his first nomination though his role in The Fabelmans (2022) wasn't substantial enough to spark a winning narrative like Madigan or RDJ.

OK, ready? VOTE BY SUNDAY, APRIL 12TH AND SHARE THE POLLS WITH FELLOW OSCAR / MOVIE / ACTING LOVERS.