Hailed by critics as “grippingly offbeat,” “as extravagant as it irresistible” and “impactful and very funny,” French director Sarah Arnold’s Too Many Beasts” (“L’Espèce explosive”) has scooped this year’s Europa Cinemas Label for best European film at the 2026 Cannes Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.
One of three Directors’ Fortnight prizes set to be announced May 21, the Label, adjudicated by a jury of four European exhibition executives, ensures the film Europa Cinemas’ backing in the form of additional promotion and incentives for exhibitors to extend the film’s run on screen.
Produced by France’s 5 à 7 Films and sold by Playtime, “Too Many Beasts” stars Alexis Manenti (“Les Misérables”) as Fulda, a disgraced Corsican cop transferred to France’s Northeast where a war between farmers and hunters is spiralling out of control. Investigating the disappearance of a farmer who has taken justice in his own hands, Fulda establishes a growing report with Stéphane, played by Ella Rumpf (“Raw”), the equally offbeat station’s psychologist, as the film spirals towards a comedy-thriller.
“A noir thriller, a detective comedy, a small-town mystery, and an eccentric blend of all three: ‘Too Many Beasts’ is a genuine surprise – a strange, delightful French film that grows stranger and more delirious with every passing minute,” wrote critic Diego Lerer.
