Cannes moves to July

New dates confirmed by organisers

by Richard Mowe

Red carpet action in Cannes
Red carpet action in Cannes Photo: Festival de Cannes

The organisers of the Cannes Film Festival which originally had suggested tentative dates in the traditional slot in the calendar from 11 to 22 May, how have decided because of the global health crisis to move the festival definitively to the 6 to 17 July.

The festival, as a precaution, had reserved several other dates later in the year and announced they would reserve the right to change them depending on how the crisis developed.

Now after an official meeting of the organisers yesterday it was announced that after deliberations the July dates were the preferred option.

Last year the Festival moved completely online.

Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s artistic director, in an article to mark the 125th anniversary on 4 January of the first commercial film screening has long been an advocate of a physical presence: “In their absence, theatres — which are our homes, our churches and our rituals — have never been so present. When will we see each other again? Soon. We must! We want to return to a theatre where there is no ‘pause' button. We want to see, on a big screen, a film we know nothing about, sitting next to someone we don’t know, and experience the promise that cinema has always upheld, and which will never disappear."

Share this with others on...
News

The division belle Suzannah Herbert on facing the US' troubled history and making Natchez

Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems

Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder

The hidden river Helen MacDonald and Philippa Lowthorpe on adapting H Is For Hawk

This wild channel David Shadrack Smith and Jake Fogelnest on the content creation revolution and Public Access

Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes

More news and features

Interact

As we move into 2026, don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:

César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards

BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck

Golden Eddies Nominations for editing brilliance announced

OFCS Awards One Battle After Another triumphs; Sinners dominates