– CANNES 2026: Sandra Wollner’s film wins the section’s main prize; Abinash Bikram Shah, Louis Clichy, Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset and the actresses from Forever Your Maternal Animal, also awarded
The winners of the Un Certain Regard section (© Amélie Canon/FDC)
The fascinating Everytime by Austrian Sandra Wollner has won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, awarded by the jury chaired by Leïla Bekhti (joined by Laura Samani, Thomas Cailley and Angèle Diabang). The filmmaker’s third feature (Encounters Special Jury Prize at the 2020 Berlinale with The Trouble with Being Born) was produced by Austrian company Panama Film with Germany’s The Barricades, and is handled internationally by Charades.
The Jury Prize went to Elephants in the Fog by Nepalese director Abinash Bikram Shah. Produced by Underground Talkies Nepal with French outfit Les Valseurs and Germany’s Die Gesellschaft, and co-produced by Enquadramento Produções (Brazil), Bubbles Project (Brazil), Zischlermann Filmproduktion (Germany), Storm Films (Norway) and Jayantii Creations (Nepal), this debut feature is handled internationally by Best Friend Forever.
A Special Jury Prize recognised the limpid and touching animated film Iron Boy by French filmmaker Louis Clichy, produced by Eddy Cinema, co-produced by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and Belgian company Beside Productions, and sold internationally by Playtime.
Also worth noting is the Best Actress award bestowed upon the trio Marina de Tavira – Daniela Marín Navarro – Mariangel Villegas for their performances in Forever Your Maternal Animal by Belgian-Costa Rican Valentina Maurel (handled by Heretic), while the Best Actor prize went to Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala (handled by The Party Film Sales).
The winners:
Un Certain Regard Prize
Everytime – Sandra Wollner (Austria/Germany)
Jury Prize
Elephants in the Fog – Abinash Bikram Shah (Nepal/Germany/Brazil/France/Norway)
Special Jury Prize
Iron Boy – Louis Clichy (France)
Best Actress
Marina De Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro and Mariangel Villegas – Forever Your Maternal Animal (Belgium/France/Mexico)
Best Actor
Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset – Congo Boy (Central African Republic/France/Democratic Republic of the Congo/Italy)

