Cannes 2026 day 8: Zviaguintsev returns with Minotaur and Renate Reinsve shines in Mungiu’s Fjord

Cannes – The 79th Cannes Film Festival, running from 12 to 23 May 2026 at the Palais des Festivals, reaches its eighth day of screenings today, Tuesday 19 May. Two films enter the official competition, and a much-anticipated out-of-competition world premiere closes the evening.

The day’s highlight is the return of Russian director Andrei Zviaguintsev, nine years after Loveless (Jury Prize 2017). The filmmaker presents Minotaur, a contemporary fable loosely inspired by the Greek myth to interrogate solitude and isolation in post-2022 Russian society. A Cannes regular — Elena (2011), Leviathan (2014), Loveless (2017) — Zviaguintsev is among the most-anticipated names for the palmares, to be revealed on Saturday 23 May at 8:15 pm.

Renate Reinsve in Fjord

The other major event of the day is the screening of Fjord, by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, Palme d’Or 2007 winner for 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days. Mungiu reunites on the Croisette with Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, awarded Best Actress in Cannes 2021 for Joachim Trier’s Julie (in 12 Chapters). In Fjord, she portrays a mother in a Romanian Christian fundamentalist family exiled in Norway, whose religious convictions lead to a trial.

The film denounces the dangers of polarisation, a recurring theme in Mungiu’s filmography (Bacalaureat, R.M.N.). The presence on the jury of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård — partner to Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value (Cannes 2025) — could weigh on the palmares deliberations.

Diamond: Andy Garcia with Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman

Out of competition, the Théâtre Debussy hosts at 10:00 pm the world premiere of Diamond, directed and starring Andy Garcia. The film tells the story of a private detective with a traumatic past and an uncanny ability to solve crimes that elude the Los Angeles police. Alongside the Cuban-American director, the cast includes Vicky Krieps, Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman and Danny Huston — an exceptional roster for a love letter to Los Angeles and a tribute to film noir classics.

Park Chan-wook decorated, John Travolta surprise

Jury president and South Korean director Park Chan-wook received in parallel to the festival the insignia of Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters. A distinction that acknowledges both his cinematic body of work — Old Boy (Grand Prix 2004), The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave (Best Director 2022), Thirst (Jury Prize 2009) — and his regular engagement with the Croisette over twenty years.

On 15 May, ahead of the screening of his film Night Flight to Los Angeles, John Travolta received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement. The American star, unexpected in this category after Peter Jackson (at the opening on 12 May) and Barbra Streisand (eventually absent for health reasons), saluted a festival that “opens its arms to the rich variety of world cinema.”

Final stretch toward the palmares

Four days of competition remain. The Un Certain Regard prize ceremony is scheduled for Friday 22 May, and the closing ceremony on Saturday 23 May at 8:15 pm — broadcast live on France 2 and co-produced by Brut. French actress Eye Haïdara, the festival’s master of ceremonies, will close the twelve-day event she described at the opening as “an act of resistance that transcends cultures.”