Three Films from Wallonia-Brussels at Cannes!
The official selection of the Cannes Film Festival has just been announced by its artistic director, Thierry Frémaux. Once again, French-speaking Belgian cinema will enjoy a historic edition, with no fewer than three Belgian films in the Official Selection, including the new film by Emmanuel Marre in Competition—and eleven co-productions!
A Man of His Time by Emmanuel Marre, produced by Michigan Films and supported by the Cinema Centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, will be presented in world premiere in Competition. This is the director’s second feature film after Zero Fucks Given, co-directed with Julie Lecoustre and already presented at Cannes in the Critics’ Week in 2021. The film is sold internationally by Charades.
A Man of His Time, starring Swann Arlaud, Sandrine Blancke, and Mathieu Perotto, takes us to September 1940, when Henri Marre arrives alone in Vichy. With no connections, he aspires to carve out a place for himself in the new regime. In his suitcase is his self-taught political manuscript, Notre salut, which he hopes to have published. Henri wants to help save France from collapse—but perhaps above all to save himself from his own downfall… The film is sold internationally by Charades.
Also in the Official Selection, two feature films will be presented in the Un Certain Regard section.
Siempre soy tu animal maternois the second feature film by director Valentina Maurel. Supported by the Cinema Centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and sold internationally by Heretic, the film follows Elsa, who returns to San José, Costa Rica, navigating between her mentally unstable sister and her disengaged parents.
This is the third time Valentina Maurel has been selected at Cannes, following the prize won in 2017 by her short film Paul is Here in the Cinéfondation section and the presentation ofLucía en el limbo at Critics’ Week in 2019. Her first feature film, Tengo sueños eléctricos, won multiple awards at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022.
Siempre soy tu animal materno is produced by Benoît Roland through his company Wrong Men. At 44, this marks the 17th film he has produced or co-produced to be selected at Cannes, across all sections, since 2015, an exceptional level of consistency not only for a Belgian independent producer but also on a European scale.
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep by Rakan Mayasi will also be presented in Un Certain Regard. This poetic debut feature, produced with support from the Cinema Centre’s low-budget production scheme, takes us to the border between Lebanon and Syria. In a valley shrouded in fog and governed by tribal laws, two sisters are sacrificed as an offering to ease tensions. Between fear of bloodshed, memories, and silence, they try to contain the fire threatening to spread. The film is produced by Atata.
Eleven Co-productions supported by the FWB!
Adding to this already impressive lineup are no fewer than eleven films co-produced by Wallonia-Brussels companies and supported by the Cinema Centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Flemish director Lukas Dhont returns to Competition four years after Close with his highly anticipated Coward, which will immerse us in the trenches of World War I. The film is co-produced on the French-speaking side by Versus Production.
Also selected in Competition is Parallel Tales by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. Farhadi returns to Cannes after A Hero, which won the Grand Prix in 2021. Co-produced in Belgium by Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique, this French-language film stars, among others, Virginie Efira.
Still in Official Competition, Soudain by Japanese director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, also starring Virginie Efira and co-produced by Tarantula and Gapbusters, takes us to a retirement home in the Paris suburbs, where Marie-Lou attempts to introduce an innovative and deeply humane care method despite resistance.
Iron Boy, an animated film by Louis Clichy, co-produced in Belgium by Beside Productions, will be presented in Un Certain Regard. This 2D animation takes us to a farm in the Beauce region, where 11-year-old Christophe follows in his father’s footsteps. But at school, at home, and on the tractor, Christophe leans… and falls. He is forced to wear a brace to straighten himself.
Sanguine, a horror film by Marion Le Corroller, will be screened in the Midnight section. Co-produced by Panache Production and La Compagnie Cinématographique, it stars Mara Taquin, Karin Viard, and Kim Higelin.
In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen has been chosen as the Opening film for the Critic's Week. The animated film is coproduced by Panique.
Finally, let us highlight the presence of two films supported by the RTBF/FWB special fund, both co-produced by Versus Production: A Woman’s Life by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, presented in Competition, and The Electric Kiss by Pierre Salvadori, which will open the festival on May 12.
It should be noted that ACID, the Directors’ Fortnight, and Critics’ Week—the festival’s parallel sections—will reveal their selections early next week.
The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 12 to May 23. As every year, Wallonie-Bruxelles Images will host the Belgian pavilion at the Marché du Film, welcoming industry professionals and promoting our cinema on the international stage.
[EDIT – 22/04/2026]
Three new films co-produced in Belgium and supported by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles have been added by the Festival.
Two of them will be presented in the Cannes Première section: Marie Madeleine by Gessica Généus, co-produced by Stenola Productions, and Si tu penses bien by Géraldine Nakache, co-produced by Artémis Productions.
The Official Short Film Selection has also been unveiled. The animated short Sister's Swim by Lola Degove, co-produced by Panique, will be presented in its world premiere.
These latest additions bring the total number of co-productions supported by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles at this year’s Cannes to 11, and 14 films overall.
More than a record, this represents a remarkable achievement.
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