With no fewer than 12 films in the official selection, Japan is at the heart of this year's Cannes Festival. Its cinema industry continues to do well with moviegoers as well as critics, making it a notable success story amid the rise of streaming.
Issued on: 23/05/2026 - 19:05
4 min Reading time
It's hard to miss the number of people wearing kimonos in the streets of Cannes. That's because Japan has pride of place this year, with three films by Japanese directors in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival and nine more across other categories. Long associated with animation and horror, Japan has a distinctive storytelling tradition that is winning over broader audiences worldwide, with a growing number of films screened at international festivals. Filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi – who shared the award for best screenplay at Cannes in 2021 for Drive My Car, which he also directed – is back with the touching All of a Sudden, filmed in a nursing home in France. It’s the story of a woman hoping to bring relief to patients thanks to the techniques of a young Japanese woman suffering from cancer. Known for his intriguing family dramas, Hirokazu Kore-eda – who won the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters in 2018 – is in the running for the main prize again with Sheep in the Box, set in the not-so-distant future. It focuses on a couple who adopts a humanoid robot built to replicate their late child.
