ACID, the filmmaker-selected Cannes parallel section which first championed the early works of Justine Triet, Kaouther Ben Hania and Radu Jude, has announced the lineup for it 2026 edition.
The selection, showcasing nine independent productions, will open with French fiction Born Under A Bad Star (Mauvaise Étoile).
Set on a scorching hot day in a nondescript outer city suburban somewhere in the South of France, it follows 24-hours in the life of a young woman called Kiki living under the control of a violent partner.
It is the first feature of directorial duo Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier after buzzy shorts The Lost Children (Les Enfants Perdus) and Bachelorette Party (Enterrement de vie de jeune fille).
“The film takes the risk of showing us something in a rather atypical way: the issue of control… but without ever offering any potentially explanatory commentary on it. It never tries to hold our hand,” says Pauline Ginot, director of France’s Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (l’ACID) which oversees the section.
Other fiction features in the lineup include Paul Nouhet’s Rewind Barcelona (Barça Zou) about a group of 18-year-olds who head to the titular Catalonian capital for their first vacation without parents and then catch up a decade later and recall those days.
International titles in the selection include Iranian director Karim Lakzadeh’ clandestinely shot Living Twice, Dying Thrice about three miners who survive the collapse of a mine but pretend they are dead so their families can claim compensation.
They soon realize that playing dead is not so easy with their clandestine life leading to new crises, as Iranian authorities await proof of death in the backdrop.
The lineup also features the hybrid Geneva-set work Summer Drift (Virages) by Swiss director Céline Carridroit and Aline Suter about a woman working on the assembly line of a luxury watch factory who decides to revive her old VW Beetle and confront the world of mechanics that once rejected her.
Further international titles include Serbian director Ivan Marković’s Cambodia-set and shot drama Promised Spaces.
It takes its cue from the contrasting realities of construction worker Sokun, who leaves his crowded dormitory and joins a community of fellow workers living on one of many unfinished high-rises, and Seda, the first tenant of one of the long-awaited luxury homes, who feels trapped in the vast gated complex.
There are three documentaries in the selection: French director Tom Fontenille’s A Secret Heart, French Iranian filmmaker Mahsa Karampour’s Dans La Gueule de l’Ogre and Detention by Guillaume Massart.
The lineup also features the animated feature Blaise by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue, following the comedic trials and tribulations of the Savage Family as it strives for societal acceptance. It take it title the family’s son Blaise, a 16-year-old loner who has set his sights on a girl he met at a party.
ACID has has previously championed the first features of Oscar winner Triet (Age of Panic) and Oscar-nominated director Ben Hania (Challet Tunes) as well as award winning filmmakers Jude, Guy Maddin and Robert Guédiguian.
The parallel sidebar enjoyed a buzzy 2025 edition in which world premiered Iranian-French director Sepideh Farsi’s Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk, and French drama Laurent dans Le Vent, which went onto enjoy a successful theatrical release at home.
Launched in 1992, ACID is Cannes youngest parallel section. With it lineup selected by a committee of filmmakers, its main aim is to help independent films which could struggle to find an audience to exist in cinemas.
Ginot explains that the ACID screening in Cannes mark the kick-off of a year-long campaign for the selected films in France.
“Everything we do revolves around the question of how to ensure that films beloved by filmmakers are seen by the widest possible audience throughout France,” she said.
“The idea is always to go beyond just the major cities, to reach areas less culturally rich, and to reduce inequalities in access to films by never prejudging people’s opinions.”
This year’s selection committee consisted of Valérie Bert, Anne Colson, Sylvain George, Martin Jauvat, Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Julien Meunier, Hélène Milano, Marion Naccache, Thomas Paulot, Philippe Petit, Déni Pitsaev, Paola Termine and Pamela Varela.
ACID 2026 Lineup
A Secret Heart (Cœur Secret)
France
Dir: Tom Fontenille
Blaise
France
Dir: Dimitri Planchon & Jean-Paul Guigue
Born Under A Bad Star (Mauvaise Étoile) – Opening film
France
Dirs: Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier
Dans La Gueule de L’Ogre
France
Mahsa Karampour
Detention (La Détention)
France
Dir: Guillaume Massart
Living Twice, Dying Thrice
Iran
Dir: Karim Lakzadeh
Promised Space
France, Germany, Serbia, Cambodia
Dir: Ivan Marković
Rewind Barcelona (Barça Zou)
Dir: Paul Nouhet
Summer Drift (Virages)
Switzerland, France
Dir: Céline Carridroit & Aline Suter
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