\n<\/p>\n
\n\tACID, 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe selection, showcasing nine independent productions, will open with French fiction Born Under A Bad Star<\/em> (Mauvaise \u00c9toile<\/em>).<\/p>\n \n\tSet 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.<\/p>\n \n\tIt is the first feature of directorial duo Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier after buzzy shorts The Lost Children<\/em> (Les Enfants Perdus<\/em>) and Bachelorette Party<\/em> (Enterrement de vie de jeune fille<\/em>).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe film takes the risk of showing us something in a rather atypical way: the issue of control\u2026 but without ever offering any potentially explanatory commentary on it. It never tries to hold our hand,\u201d says Pauline Ginot, director of France\u2019s Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema (l\u2019ACID) which oversees the section.<\/p>\n \n\tOther fiction features in the lineup include Paul Nouhet\u2019s Rewind Barcelona<\/em> (Bar\u00e7a Zou<\/em>) 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.<\/p>\n \n\tInternational titles in the selection include Iranian director Karim Lakzadeh\u2019 clandestinely shot Living Twice, Dying Thrice about <\/em>three miners who survive the collapse of a mine but pretend they are dead so their families can claim compensation.<\/p>\n \n\tThey 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.<\/p>\n \n\tThe lineup also features the hybrid Geneva-set work Summer Drift<\/em> (Virages<\/em>) by Swiss director C\u00e9line 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.<\/p>\n \n\tFurther international titles include Serbian director Ivan Markovi\u0107\u2019s Cambodia-set and shot drama Promised Spaces<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tIt 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.<\/p>\n \n\tThere are three documentaries in the selection: <\/em>French director Tom Fontenille\u2019s A Secret Heart<\/em>, French Iranian filmmaker Mahsa Karampour\u2019s Dans La Gueule de l\u2019Ogre<\/em> and Detention<\/em> by Guillaume Massart.<\/p>\n \n\tThe lineup also features the animated feature Blaise<\/em> 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\u2019s son Blaise, a 16-year-old loner who has set his sights on a girl he met at a party.<\/p>\n \n\tACID has has previously championed the first features of Oscar winner Triet (Age of Panic<\/em>) and Oscar-nominated director Ben Hania (Challet Tunes<\/em>) as well as award winning filmmakers Jude, Guy Maddin and Robert Gu\u00e9diguian.<\/p>\n \n\tThe parallel sidebar enjoyed a buzzy 2025 edition in which world premiered Iranian-French director Sepideh Farsi\u2019s\u00a0Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk<\/em>, and French drama Laurent dans Le Vent, which went onto enjoy a successful theatrical release at home.<\/p>\n \n\tLaunched 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. <\/p>\n \n\tGinot explains that the ACID screening in Cannes mark the kick-off of a year-long campaign for the selected films in France. \n\t\u201cThe 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\u2019s opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThis year\u2019s selection committee consisted of Val\u00e9rie Bert, Anne Colson, Sylvain George, Martin Jauvat, Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Julien Meunier, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Milano, Marion Naccache, Thomas Paulot, Philippe Petit, D\u00e9ni Pitsaev, Paola Termine and Pamela Varela.<\/p>\n \n\tACID 2026 Lineup<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tA Secret Heart<\/em> (C\u0153ur Secret<\/em>) \n\tBlaise<\/em> \n\tBorn Under A Bad Star<\/em> (Mauvaise \u00c9toile<\/em>) \u2013 Opening film \n\tDans La Gueule de L\u2019Ogre<\/em> \n\tDetention<\/em> (La D\u00e9tention<\/em>) \n\tLiving Twice, Dying Thrice<\/em>
\u00a0
\u201cEverything we do revolves around the question of how to ensure that films beloved by filmmakers are seen by the widest possible audience throughout France,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
France
Dir: Tom Fontenille<\/p>\n
France
Dir: Dimitri Planchon & Jean-Paul Guigue<\/p>\n
France
Dirs: Lola Cambourieu and Yann Berlier<\/p>\n
France
Mahsa Karampour<\/p>\n
France
Dir: \u00a0Guillaume Massart<\/p>\n
Iran
Dir: Karim Lakzadeh<\/p>\n