ACID, the Cannes Film Festival sidebar run by the French Film Directors Association that aims to promote the theatrical distribution of independent films, revealed its 2026 lineup on Tuesday, with general delegate Pauline Guénot promising to select nine “adventurous” and “daring” films by emerging voices from countries such as Iran, Switzerland and, of course, France.
Launched in 1992, ACID has built a reputation for itself for discovering up-and-coming directorial talent. Among other things, she brought to Cannes the first features of authors such as Anatomy of a fall Director Justin Tritt, who premieres The era of panic There is Radu Gude who unveiled The happiest girl in the world In the program in 2009, Kaouther Ben Haniyeh (Hind Rajab’s voice), which screened her first feature film, Tunisia code, at ACID in 2014. ACID has also previously championed early work by the likes of Jay Madden, including My Winnipeg.
More than 600 films were submitted this year for one of the nine coveted spots in the ACID program, Guinot says. THR. “We have watched them all and are now sending messages to everyone,” she confirms. “And we try to do that with some quotes and ideas from the panel, so people know that their films have already been seen by other filmmakers. We are an association and union of filmmakers, and filmmakers are used to saying no and waiting for a response, so we get a lot of feedback from people who feel it’s amazing that their film has been seen,” they received comments.
As is the case every year, there were not enough places to show all the exciting films. “We had to leave a lot of really good films behind [out]“But I’m pretty sure they’ll find a place,” says Jeannot.
“We like to be adventurous,” she says. THR. “ACID is a group of filmmakers who support independent films and who want to be bold. We have films that are not perfect sometimes, but you can tell there is a filmmaker who has a future, and the ecosystem will be happy to see these people’s other films. Without us, they may not have a future. There is no second or third film, if there is no first film, even if the first film is not perfect. We are just here to help filmmakers and bring them into the world.”
There are two films in this year’s ACID lineup from Iranian-born directors, and two documentaries, and the themes and topics explored are diverse.
This year’s programming committee consists of 13 directors: Valérie Peart, Anne Coulson, Sylvain Georges, Martin Joffat, Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Julien Meunier, Hélène Milano, Marion Naccache, Thomas Paolo, Philippe Petit, Denny Betsayev, Paola Theremin and Pamela Varela.
Check out the full ACID 2026 lineup belowWith some insight and ideas from Jeannot.
Secret heart (The secret of the heart) by Tom Fontenelle (85 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “Over the past four years, Lilo has left her secret life behind, becoming a 64-year-old woman who enjoys crafts, gardening, biking, and caring for her grandchildren. As I accompany her through her transformation, I photograph a family healing their wounds and reinventing a place for everyone. This is my family. Lilo is my father.”
“This is a documentary about a trans woman,” says Jeanott. “But that never becomes a plot device or a narrative driver, and yet it leaves a lasting impression, especially in terms of the trauma of it.”
Belize Written by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guage (82 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “The Sauvage family just wants to be loved. Carol is trying to improve her bad reputation among her employees, while Jack is trying to do the same with his friends. As for their son Blaise, he is politely about to embark on a revolutionary, violent, and completely improvised crusade for a girl.”
This animated film is based on a comic story that has already received the series treatment.
“The film has an excellent voice cast,” says Jeannot [including Léa Drucker] And really sharp dialogue that mocks the bourgeoisie and more. Everyone gets a piece of the action, all while the film raises many contemporary themes, including consent, class struggle, body heterogeneity, violence, everything, but overall, the need for connection and validation.
Born under a bad star (Mauves Etoile) Written by Lola Camporio and Yann Perlier (125 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “It’s scorching heat in a suburban neighborhood in the south of France. It’s an end-of-the-year party at the local sports club. Birds fly from their nests, forest fires rage, and Kiki remains under the spell of her bad star.”
Dans La Gueule De L’ogre Written by Mahsa Karmpour (86 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “I cannot fully understand the adventurous life my brother Siavash leads, so far from mine. While I have just become French and he is about to become American, far from our homeland, Iran, we search for common ground.”
“The film is about the hardship of exile, a portrait of the continuity of a relationship, and of course, you can’t help but think about what’s happening in Iran now, where the film ends,” says Jeannot.
Detention (No detention) directed by Guillaume Massart (132 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “Open the door. Deal with a crisis. Write an incident report. At a French prison officer academy, hundreds of men and women learn how to become prison guards. Their words begin to reflect the institution. Their movements grow more intense. What once felt uncertain becomes routine. Doubt slowly fades from their faces.”
“It was the director’s first feature film,” says Jeannot No liberty (In the conquest), about a prison in France, and here he continues his work to address the French prison system indirectly. He spent a year pursuing training for prison staff. You won’t set foot in prison during the film, but you will feel like you learned a lot about the French prison system.
He lives twice and dies three times Written by Karim Lakzadeh (103 minutes – Iran – 2026)
Synopsis: “Three miners who survived a mine collapse decide to hide their death so that their families can demand compensation. Their secret lives gradually lead to new crises: family tensions, the desire to start over, and a search for identity that leads them to Tehran. Meanwhile, the Iranian authorities wait for proof of the death…”
“In the aftermath of the explosion, three men decide to pretend to be dead so their families can collect the insurance money,” says Jeanott. “It’s really an adventure film that cuts across all social classes in Iran. The film is also a declaration of love for the movie theaters of the 1970s.”
Promised spaces Written by Ivan Markovic (76 minutes – France, Germany, Serbia, Cambodia – 2026)
Synopsis: Sleepless from the heat, Sokun leaves his crowded quarters and joins a community of fellow workers living in one of the many unfinished high-rise buildings. One of these towers offers a long-awaited luxury home for his first tenant, Seda, who soon feels trapped in the vast gated complex.
“This film uses a documentary style, but it’s actually fiction,” says Guinot. “The film explores the construction of a modern housing complex in Cambodia that is going through very rapid change. It shows us how urban landscapes are also political landscapes where class relations come into concrete form. The film is really driven by a very precise composition of shots.”
Rewind Barcelona (Barcelona Zo) by Paul Nohit (85 minutes – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “In their eighteenth summer, Emile, Paul, Hascoët and Leo head to Barcelona, the home of skiing, for their first holiday together. Ten years later, they look back and remember those days.”
“The film is about how memories are shaped by a large number of small, insignificant moments,” says Jeanott. “It is about being suspended in limbo, leaving childhood behind, but not yet reaching adulthood, where everything and nothing matters, and where moments can… “The mundane become decisive moments.”
Summer drift (Virages) by Céline Caridroit and Alain Sutter (89 minutes – Switzerland, France – 2026)
Synopsis: “It’s summer in Geneva. Joanna works on the assembly line at a luxury watch factory and won’t go on vacation. While she considers getting rid of her old VW Beetle, she decides instead to bring it back to life and confront the mechanical world that once rejected her.”
“Johanna is a really colorful, memorable character,” says Jeanott. “She’s more than that. She’s a really memorable character. She’s much more than that.” Mad Max Letter from [anything else]. The film is set in Geneva, but in an underground Geneva scene that we never see in cinema.
